


Look Alive, Sunshine

by rainbowhuesoflife



Series: True Lives [1]
Category: Splatoon
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, Healthy Relationships, Original Character(s)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-08
Updated: 2020-05-27
Packaged: 2020-06-24 12:21:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 63,107
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19723582
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rainbowhuesoflife/pseuds/rainbowhuesoflife
Summary: A bunch of teen sea animals becoming adults welcome their newest friend as they ponder what they're gonna do with the rest of their lives. Lots of Turf War, emotional bonding, discovering things about the world, themselves, and each other. Pretty innocent, a few swear words here and there and some mild references to "mature themes" but nothing a sitcom hasn't done at this point.All original characters. Takes place in an AU where the Inklings aren't as stupid as they are in canon. A few liberties taken but I hope you enjoy nonetheless~





	1. Get Me Out Of My Head

**1\. Get Me Out Of My Head**

“Hey guys… You ever think that maybe there’s more to life than Turf Wars?”

A collective gasp rose from the rest of the gang, and the three battlers and their two friends stared at Ankyr, who had his back turned to them, leaning on the railing and staring off into the sunset.

“Oh no,” Rocky half-whispered.

“He’s getting older,” Caurel said soberly.

“It can’t be time yet,” Ecto said.

“More important than Turf Wars?” asked Moises, their Jellyfish friend.

“Yeah,” Ankyr said, turning around to give his squad a toothy grin. “Y'know, like Ranked Battles!”

“Phew!” The group let out sighs of relief.

“You scared me there for a second,” Caurel said.

“Seriously though.” Ankyr’s grin relaxed a bit. “I think about it a lot these days. What we’re gonna do, y'know?”

“We’re not gonna replace you, if that’s what you mean,” Rocky said.

“No, bro,” Caurel shook her head. “I think he’s just worried about the ‘event horizon’.”

“The what?”

“I’m gonna be eighteen soon,” Ankyr said, grateful that at least Caurel got it. “I’ve never seen an Inkling keep interest in battling much longer than that.”

“So?” Rocky scoffed. “That won’t happen to us. We’re totes dedicated to Turf War. And we’re one of the best squads! They’re gonna build a statue for us if we keep up at this rate.”

“Dream on, roller-boy,” the Crayfish Caasi said with a short cackle. She was also a fan of the team, but loved to give people a hard time, and Rocky was her favorite victim.

“I prefer Jet-Star.”

“I prefer Alpha Centauri, it shines brighter than your dim bulb.”

“Look, the Killjoys aren’t going anywhere,” Rocky said, steering the conversation back onto its topic and ignoring Caasi’s sly commentary. “And that includes you.” He poked Ankyr’s chest with his index finger. “You’re not gonna lose your passion that easily, just because you age a few more weeks. Come on, let’s get outta here. Your philosophical stuff is making me hungry.”

“Everything makes you hungry,” Caurel cackled, cleaning her glasses with her purple and white Grape Tee.

“Same,” Moises said.

“I third that,” Caasi nodded as the teen sea critters climbed up the steps to exit Blackbelly Skatepark. Now that the Turf War was over, the majority of the pink and turquoise ink had vanished, and people of all ages - and species - were enjoying the activities the park was originally intended for. It was only a short walk from either end of the park to the train station.

“But how long do you think we’ll keep battling?” Ankyr asked once they were all seated on the train.

“ENOUGH!” Rocky groaned and threw his arms in the air.

“I’m serious. Do you think we’ll keep doing this when we’re thirty or something? I don’t wanna be the 'creepy old guy’.”

“Thirty isn’t old,” Caasi said in a matter-of-fact tone.

“You know what I mean.”

“Nobody’s gonna be the 'creepy old guy’,” Rocky said. “Nobody’s gonna do anything about anything, and nothing’s gonna change. The future doesn’t matter. All that matters is now. Now shut up, you’re making me hungrier.”

“Actually, I have interests outside of Turf War,” Ecto finally spoke up.

“UGH!” With one final growl, Rocky got up and walked away, heading into the next car, before slamming the door behind him. This sent Caurel, Moises, and Caasi into a fit of laughter, while Ankyr continued staring solemnly at the passing scenery. Ecto simply shrugged.

“As I was saying, I’ve always been big into making and repairing things. I’ve been working on my own custom weapon set.”

“That’s applicable to Turf War though, Ghoul,” Ankyr sighed.

“Yeah, but it’s still a skill outside of it,” Caurel said sternly. “She can carry it with her when… IF she ever stops battling. We understand you’re feeling down, Sunshine, but don’t turn into a jerk.”

“Yeah… Sorry,” Ankyr said.

“We’re cool, Sunshine,” Ecto said, patting her teammate on the shoulder.

“Do you think there’s anything I can bring with me? Like, to use when I get older?”

“Of course,” Caurel said. “There’s your…” She trailed off and stared into space.

“Well,” Ecto picked up, “you’ve always been very… Hm…” She apparently had to think as well.

“Guys!”

“Ankyr, you’re really…” Moises said, pausing for a moment. “Um… You’re really nice?”

“Yeah, I got nothin’,” Caasi shrugged.

“I can’t believe you guys!”

\/\/\/\/\/

Once they got off the train at the downtown residential district that most of the group called home, the six hungry teens made their way to Yellow Submarine, their favorite place to grab eats. The double-doors with circular windows greeted them silently with their familiarity, as did the mingled smells of many tasty foods, mostly fried and baked.

“Heaven,” Rocky sighed dreamily, closing his eyes and sniffing the air, letting his nose guide him. “I’m in heaven. Sweet Caroline, I’m so ready.”

“This way, bro.” Caurel grabbed him by the shoulders and guided him to the corner booth the others had already gravitated toward.

“Can I get you guys anything to drink?” a waiter asked - a young Inkling with their tentacles split and styled in dreadlocks. They held a notepad and pen and wore an eager smile to match their pristine uniform.

“Hi,” Caurel said, glancing around the diner for a moment before giving the waiter her full attention. “We need whatever appetizers you can get here in a hurry. My brother’s about to pass out.” She gestured to Rocky for emphasis, and the male Inkling simply groaned with his head on the table.

“Oh! Sure, I’ll be right back.” And with that, the waiter zipped away to the kitchen.

“Isn’t Penny working today?” Caurel asked once the group was alone again.

“As far as I know.” Caasi shrugged all of her shoulders while suddenly staring at her phone.

“Our freshest and finest,” the waiter declared as they zoomed back to the table with a tray.

“Wow, that was fast,” Rocky said, suddenly able to speak again as a basket of bread, a box of steamed rice, and two bowls each of chips, salsa, and a thick soup-like concoction were placed on the table. He grabbed two handfuls of breadsticks and was planning on tossing them into his mouth, when his sister smacked his wrist.

“Tell-them-thank-you,” she emphasized each syllable.

“Th-th-thank you,” Rocky said, dropping the food - and his forehead - onto the table. “I’m so sorry. Thank you. You’ve saved my life! I pledge my life to your cause, whatever it may be!”

“Th… at’s not necessary,” the waiter awkwardly chuckled.

“Thank you, though,” Ecto said, “in all seriousness.”

“You’re all welcome,” the waiter said, bowing. “Oh! I’m sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. I’m Abbey, and I’ll be your waiter today.”

“Nice to meet you, Abbey,” greeted the entire group, save for Rocky, who had finally started shoving food in his mouth.

“Thank you,” Abbey said, bowing again.

“Abbey, do you know if Penny’s here?” asked Caurel. “She was supposed to be working today.”

“The girl with the daisy chains? I think the boss let her leave early. Something about an interview?”

“Oh my Great Zapfish, she got the interview!” Caurel hopped up and down in her seat. “I’m so proud of her!”

“That explains it,” Ankyr said, nodding toward Caasi. “She was probably so excited she rushed off without thinking of texting us.”

“Whatever,” Caasi said, now furiously tapping away at her phone.

“So now that that mystery is solved,” Ankyr said, “I’ll take a Baby, You’re A Rich Man and a Melonade.”

“Oh, are you guys already ready to order?” Abbey asked, jotting down what Ankyr had said.

“We kind of have the menu memorized,” Moises said. “I’ll just take a small Walk The Plankton and an Algae Pop.”

“Those aren’t good for you,” Ecto said. “There’s no algae in it, it’s just algae-flavored soda.”

“You know what, I didn’t come here to be judged,” Moises said, folding his menu and whacking Ecto on the head with it. The bespectacled Inkling retaliated by knocking his makeshift weapon out of his grasp with her right tentacle, innocently humming and pretending to be preoccupied with her salsa the entire time. This quickly devolved into a slapping match of arms and tentacles, and Caurel waved Abbey’s attention away from the two troublemakers.

“For me and my brother, just tell the chef that Jet-Star and the Kobra Kid are here. He’ll know what to do.”

“O-okay, sure,” Abbey said, jotting down Caurel’s instructions with a raised eyebrow. “What can I get for you?” they asked Caasi, who continued to type on her phone with five of the six slender limbs she used as arms, tapping her four feet on the floor impatiently.

“Caasi,” Caurel said, waving her hand in front of the Crayfish’s face.

“What?” Caasi snapped, before shrinking back in her seat when she realized what was going on. “Oh… Sorry about that. I’ll take a salad with just the lettuce. Actually, can I get that in a to-go box?”

“Um… Sure.”

“And I’ll take the Day Tripper Deluxe,” Ecto said, wiping chips and salsa off of herself. “And another round of chips, please.” She ended this sentence with a glare at Moises, who was guffawing at his apparent victory in their battle.

“Sure thing,” Abbey nodded, writing down this last order. After finishing their notes, they gave the group another low bow. “We’ll have that ready as soon as possible,” they said before departing once again.

“Okay, I’m out,” Caasi said, rising from her seat and placing her phone in her pocket. “Caurel, hold onto my salad for me.”

“You’re leaving already?” Ecto asked, though she didn’t get an answer, as Caasi was already almost to the door.

“Go get her, dude,” Moises cheered as their Crayfish friend ran out of the diner.

“I’m so proud of Penny,” Caurel said again. “I knew she would get the break she deserves soon.”

“She’ll be a hit idol before long,” Ankyr said, watching Caasi disappear from view. “She and Caasi will have it made. And Ecto will be an award-winning inventor after she graduates, no doubt about it.”

“H…Hey, that’s not necessarily true, man,” Ecto said, holding out her hands.

“And Caurel and Moises are bound to go far as clothing designers. And of course Rocky is already rank A+… He’ll be noticed by the big brands before long. Probably join a pro team. And I’ll be… just me.”

“I am SO tired of hearing you feel sorry for yourself,” Rocky said, slamming down his now-empty salsa bowl. Ankyr turned his attention back to the table, to see everyone staring at him - mostly with solemn expressions, but Rocky was fuming.

“Oh… I was thinking out loud again. Sorry.”

“It’s nice to know you have so much faith in all of us, homie,” Moises said. “Really. But…”

“We are just as uncertain about the future as you,” Ecto picked up.

“Yeah,” Moises nodded. “We just don’t torture ourselves about it like you are.”

“Seriously, Sunshine,” Caurel said. “You can come to us with your feelings any time. You don’t have to keep it bottled up.”

“Caurel…”

“Hmph! Well I don’t wanna hear any of it,” Rocky said. “Don’t come to me with your whining.”

“Shut it, you,” Caurel said, shoving a rolled-up breadstick into her brother’s mouth.

“Is… this a bad time?” Abbey asked as they approached with a platter in their hands.

“Not at all, Abbey-senpai!” Rocky said once he had dislodged the bread from his maw. His demeanor had changed to all smiles in the presence of their waiter.

“Please don’t call me that…”

“Okay! Your wish is my command.”

“The cook told me to give this to you two,” Abbey said, trying their best to ignore the uncomfortable moment and let it go floating by. They took a large bowl off of the platter and placed it in front of the siblings.

“Beautiful,” Rocky said. “Just beautiful.”

“He already had it prepared for us,” Caurel said, wiping saliva from the corner of her mouth. “I love that old man!”

“The rest of your order will be done as soon as possible,” Abbey told the others as they placed another helping of chips and salsa in the middle of the table, and set each person’s drink down in front of them. “Please let me know if I can do anything else for you.”

“Your eternal love will be enough,” Rocky said with a wide grin. His sister slammed her fist down on the top of his head.

“STOP ACTING LIKE A CREEPER!”

\/\/\/\/\/

Approximately one hour later, upstairs of that very same establishment…

“So, miss movie star, do you have any words for the folks watching at home?”

“Shut up!”

“Hey, don’t get out of the frame,” Caasi chuckled, chasing after her Inkling girlfriend with the camera function of her phone turned on. “Are you camera-shy?”

“If you show this to anyone, I will end you!”

“As if I’d do that. I want you all to myself.”

Penny Lane was considered for most of her life to have the worst luck among any of her peers. She was born into a very poor family, in more ways than one, and she didn’t have the easiest childhood. By the time she was in high school, she had accepted the fact that she was going to be stepped on or used by one person or another.

Before she had even reached fourteen years of age, she was lucky enough to be adopted into a healthier family, though the pain of her past would never stop haunting her mind. Her blood family didn’t seem to care one way or the other, and some made it known that they were glad to be rid of her, which was its own pain in and of itself, but not to compare with what she had already endured. When she turned sixteen she managed to acquire a room for rent in exchange for working at the diner below it, in the hopes of keeping her mind busy - and subconsciously to try to distance herself from those who tried to help.

Even though she started to turn her life around, bad luck followed her for the next two years, and sometimes it seemed nothing ever went right for her. If she bought a box fan to make her Summers more tolerable, someone stole it. If she bought a lock for her door, she would lose the key. If she got an extra job across town, her car would break down. If, by chance, she could afford to take the train, she could never wake up on time, even though she set alarms. There was more than one night when she cried herself to sleep, snapping from the constant buildup of tiny thing after tiny thing.

But…

She had the best friends she could ever hope for - some of which she had formed a squad with to play Turf War. She had wonderful people looking out for her - no matter how many jobs she lost, she always had her gig at the Yellow Submarine. And now, she had finally landed her first role in her dream career! Sure, it was hardly a few lines of dialogue, but it was something. It was the start. It was her start.

And now, she was celebrating her big break with her loving, wonderful, fun, gorgeous girlfriend, who she had somehow - bad luck be damned - managed to keep around for more than a year. As far as Penny was concerned, she was the luckiest squid in the world.

\/\/\/\/\/

Saturday morning, Ankyr decided that he wanted to feel like someone else. Or rather, the culmination of that decision had finally reached its critical point. So he did something that he would never do - he spontaneously took a boat ride.

“Thank you for choosing Ocean Eyes for all your travel needs,” a disembodied voice chimed over the dock’s PA system. “We are committed to quality service and safety so that you can have the time of your life. For questions and concerns, or to check in, please see our main desk. Please keep in mind…”

Ankyr tuned out the intercom while he walked from the front desk to the loading gate marked LSOD-2005.

'I shouldn’t be doing this… Should I? I could be in a Turf War right now. I could be sleeping in. Why am I awake so early, anyway?’ He shook his head and marched forward. 'I’m doing this. I’m gonna do this so I… Because…’

“Hi, welcome aboard the KC Accidental,” greeted a uniformed Inkling with a wide grin, pulling Ankyr out of his mental trapeze.

“I… Oh, hi, thanks,” he said, giving the slightly older woman a short bow before presenting her with his ticket.

“Thank you for joining us today! It’s so great to see people my age take an interest in the sea. I’m Marianne, and I’ll be your Captain-slash-tour-guide today. Feel free to wander around on-deck to your heart’s content. After all, that’s what it’s all about - exploration!”

“Thanks, Marianne, I-I mean Captain,” he said, bowing his head and running on deck.

“Such a polite guy,” he heard her say, and a grin swept across his face, his cheeks turning the same turquoise color as his tentacles, as he slowed down his pace.

'Well, I’m here, I might as well enjoy it. What would I do if I… wasn’t me?’

He wandered toward the edge of the deck and placed his hands on the railing, staring out at the bay. He was never so close to the ocean, but it was right there - all over the place - to enjoy whenever he wanted.

He had no idea how long he had been staring off into the distance when Marianne’s voice floated over the ferry.

“Good morning, ladies and gentlefish, this is your Captain speaking. Please make yourselves comfortable. We’ll be departing in about three minutes.”

Several other passengers made their way to the railing to enjoy the view, though Ankyr was thankful that none of them approached him to talk. He was already too busy dealing with himself to pay attention to a conversation.

Soon the ferry started moving, and Ankyr’s attention shifted continuously between the rippling water down below, the seagulls flying over the water, and the sight of Inkopolis passing by as they moved.

The air smelled so much better out at sea, it tasted better, and everything seemed bigger, brighter, and more full of life. Marianne was stating facts about the ocean over the loudspeaker, but Ankyr was paying more attention to the sounds of the gulls and the ferry.

“This is our first stop, the Delphine Dropoff. The top of this seaside cliff used to be a famous place for dates, until too many accidents happened, and it became off-limits. The bottom here is safe, though, so feel free to explore.”

Ankyr rode out the entire trip at the railings. The wind, smells, and sensations of the sea put him into a meditative state that was only broken every now and then when the Captain brought up a fact that interested him.

“You may have noticed that the seagulls aren’t following us out very far past the bay. That’s because there aren’t that many "living spots” in the ocean around here. Scientists suggest that thousands of years ago, the entire ocean was full of living things. Fish, coral, anemones, and many of our other ancestors could be found all over the ocean, all over the world, not just in select spots like Bluefin Bay. But massive, unprecedented changes in the Earth’s carbon dioxide and sea level caused the pH levels of the water to shift enough to throw things out of balance. At first only in tiny spots, but eventually this crisis spread all over the world. If you think about it, it’s kind of a miracle that our ancestors were able to stay alive long enough to evolve to what we are now.“

"Wow,” Ankyr breathed, glancing up to the Captain’s deck and then back to the distant gulls flying around the city. “I never thought about it that way…”

“The area we’re heading into is another of the few living spots in the ocean around Inkopolis,” Marianne continued after a few moments of silence. “Many brave fishers make their livings out here. This is our last stop on the ride, so you may get out if you choose, but we recommend caution, as this area is dangerous.” They were pulling up to a rocky coastline that rose into a series of high cliffs, at the top of which was a gargantuan rock formation that seemed to be in the shape of an octopus.

“Whoa…”

“Welcome to the boundaries of Octo Valley.”

A few passengers disembarked, though they stayed close to the ferry.

“You’ve been awfully quiet on this trip,” Marianne said as she approached Ankyr. “You haven’t gotten down at any of the stops. The ocean has really captivated you, hasn’t it?”

“I guess so,” Ankyr chuckled nervously, scratching the back of his head as he turned around to face the Captain. “I have a lot to think about lately. And… I guess the sights and sounds of the sea kind of helped me push it all out of my mind. I know it’s still gonna be there for me to deal with when I get back home, but I still feel like I’ve been healed somehow. Maybe. Just a little.”

“I get that,” the Captain nodded. “The ocean does that for me, too. No matter how many times I see it, it helps me. It’s like I’m in another world where all of that mess doesn’t apply.”

Ankyr nodded and smiled, letting out a short sigh. He felt like he should continue the conversation to be polite, but was feeling awkward and didn’t know what to say.

“Captain, I… I think I will get down and see the sights. Might as well, at least once.”

“That’s the spirit! Just be careful. We wouldn’t want one of our…” She cleared her throat. “We wouldn’t want anything to happen to you. To… any of our passengers.”

“I will,” he giggled nervously, backing away with a bow before turning and walking toward the ramp.

'Glad I’m not the only awkward person around,’ he thought as he realized his cheeks had been burning again.

Once he left the ship, he noticed a small dirt trail leading up and between some of the rock formations. Several passengers were walking up and down the path, so he went ahead and did the same. Several signs were posted at the sides of the trail, warning about the dangers, as well as listing interesting facts about the area.

He was thinking about turning around and returning to the ship, when out of the corner of his eye he spotted a group of wildflowers with vivid purple and red petals. There were at least five or six individual flowers with light-green stems, growing out of a tiny crevice in the rock wall, far off the beaten path.

'Whoa… I think that’s the endangered plant we were learning about in Biology…’

He took out his phone and snapped a few photos of the flowers, though he wasn’t happy with the quality from so far away, so he moved closer, and eventually climbed up the rock wall.

“So beautiful,” he thought out loud, reaching out with his phone to get a closer shot. Still not quite satisfied, he continued up to the top of the rock wall to snap a shot from above, but once he reached the top, he froze in place, all breath taken away. There were countless patches of the same wildflower species dotting the stone terrain like a colorful red, green, and violet quilt. Not far off, a higher rock wall rose gradually up, providing shade for the natural flower beds - shade that was retreating more and more as morning crept closer to noon.

'I… I think it’ll be safe to take one now,’ he said, nodding his head absent-mindedly as if giving himself approval as he walked closer to the shade.

Just as he knelt down to pluck one of the wildflowers, his ears perked up and he froze. It took just the breadth of a second to convince himself that he had not been hearing things: the sound that reached his pointed Inkling ears was a familiar one. A high-pitched, elongated hum, which his mind equated with his friend Ecto. The young tinkerer was well-known for her skill with the Splatterscope and other chargers, and any time Ankyr was near her during an ink battle, he was likely to hear that high-pitched noise, followed soon by a loud BANG and a splatted opponent.

But at this moment, there was no ink battle going on. No fun-filled sport with his friends. He was alone. On the outskirts of Octo Valley. And he was well off the beaten path.

Another second passed. The sound grew louder. He locked his attention above, at the top of the cliff wall, and the source of the sound. A charger-type weapon that was very similar to the one Ecto owned and loved, but also different. Just a bit different. A weapon in the hands of someone who could almost be mistaken for an Inkling. Again, very similar, but just different enough. And the scowl on their face shifted fluidly into a smirk when the charger sounded its ready-for-action alert.

“Say goodnight, sunshine.”

\/\/\/\/\/


	2. Chapter 2

**2\. Your Life Will Never Be The Same**

Ankyr rolled to the left just as a line of ruby red ink shot out of the charger, covering the ground where he had stood mere seconds ago. A few stray drops rained onto him, just barely reaching but damaging nonetheless. He wasted no time - as soon as he was back on his feet, he ran as fast as he could.

More ink shots followed him, always just seconds behind his footsteps. He finally found cover in the form of an outcropping on the far side of the cliff face, just large enough to duck under. One more shot landed about four feet away from him, and then his assailant fell silent. No charging sound, no voice. If they were moving, they were doing so quietly enough that he couldn’t tell where they were.

And then came the sound he had been fearing - a loud trill that meant a bomb was on its way.

In the next second and a half, Ankyr ran through the possibilities in his mind. He knew that the Octoling was waiting on the other side of the outcropping, and would splat him as soon as he ran away from the bomb. He could run out as fast as he could and hope to only be hit by splashes, and not the full blast of the shot. But that was a risky last-ditch effort he’d rather not rely on. He could instead try to climb the rock wall. Then he would have two main options: either drop down onto the Octoling and try to disarm them, or climb up the rest of the wall to have the higher ground.

His time was up. He could see the bomb descending, a small tank of ink held in place by a pyramid wire frame. He scrambled up the rock wall as fast as he could, but to him it felt like slow-motion. Before he had gotten halfway there, the bomb exploded and a small amount of the ink collided with his back and legs. Once he reached the top of the rock wall, he cursed himself: the Octoling was still standing there.

Luckily for him, they hadn’t expected him to climb up instead of running out into the open. It took a small moment for them to turn around, and another for their weapon to charge. In that small amount of time, Ankyr managed to scramble up to his feet and rush at them. He knocked them down, but went falling and rolling with them, groaning and shouting from the pain caused by the bare rocks.

He was grappling the Octoling’s body as they rolled downhill together, doing all he could to keep them from raising their weapon, which they soon dropped to better focus on escaping his grasp. They bit Ankyr’s arm and eventually managed to kick him in the stomach. This blow knocked the wind out of the Inkling, and he let go of his assailant to bring his hands down to his abdomen. His descent soon ground to a halt, while the Octoling kept rolling, and he got up to his feet soon enough to see them heading toward a sudden drop-off into a gargantuan, seemingly endless chasm.

‘I guess that’s Octo Valley,’ he thought as he caught his breath. 'It’ll just return to its home. But…’ He stared at the chasm. 'Even still, that’s a long way to fall. It’s not my problem, but…’ He hesitated for only a second more, before running down the rocky hill, his body moving faster than he thought it could.

'I hate having a conscience! Even though I know I’d want someone to save me if the shoe was on the other foot, I… Darn it! Just don’t try to kill me again if I do this!’

The Octoling had fallen down the drop-off, but they were still there when he arrived, clinging to a tiny outcropping for dear life. He reached his arm down, almost able to reach their hand, but the Octoling ignored him, reaching instead for another hand-hold. They managed to grab it, but before they could shift their weight, the first hand-hold crumbled just enough for their right hand to slip. Right when they began to fall, Ankyr grabbed their right wrist with both of his hands and pulled up with all of his might.

“RrrrAAAAAAAAHHHH!” He roared with wild abandon, calling on every ounce of strength in his pseudo-liquid body. In another moment that seemed like forever, he lifted them up and over his own head, bringing them to a crashing - but safe - landing on the rocks. He himself fell down on his back, not mad about it in the least.

After his breathing returned to normal - again - he rose to his feet and turned to see the Octoling rising up to a sitting position. They took off their cracked goggles and dropped them, revealing a smooth face with olive skin and amber eyes.

'Wow,’ Ankyr thought, hoping his cheeks weren’t as turquoise as he thought they were. 'It’s actually… They’re actually kind of cute.’

“Hey, are you alright?” he asked, bending down and placing his hand on their arm. They immediately slapped his hand away and scooted back as fast as they could.

“Keep your squid hands off me,” they shouted with a feminine voice, their eyes closed in apprehension at first, then open and sending him a glare. Ankyr tried to tell them that he wasn’t trying to hurt them - to say anything, really - but he couldn’t seem to get any sound out other than croaks and grunts. “Wait a minute…” The Octoling examined their arm, running a finger up and down their slightly dark skin. They looked back up at the Inkling with a bewildered expression. “Your skin… isn’t poisonous?”

“N…No?”

'What kind of question is that?’ he added in his thoughts.

“The archdeacon said that… Squidlings have toxic skin that will make you sick and eat away at your flesh.”

“Well, that’s silly,” Anykr said with a grin. “How would I eat anything? I’d have to wear protective gloves or I’d poison my own food.”

“You’re… not going to eat me, are you?"Ankyr was even more taken aback by this question.

"Why would I?” he asked, eyebrow raised.

“I… I just thought.. Well, it all seems silly now that I see one in person. You’re almost just like me.” They rose to their feet and stepped closer to Ankyr, who tensed up at first, but soon relaxed and stepped forward as well.

“Almost,” he nodded. “Your tentacles are cuter than mine though.”

'I REALLY JUST SAID THAT. WHY. WHY.’

The Octoling didn’t seem to have anything to say to this, though their cheeks turned a pleasant shade of violet-red.

“I-I just mean, Inkling tentacles are big and doofy like this,” Ankyr said, pointing to his own ponytail. It conisisted of two long tentacles tied up together - tentacles that grew wider near the end before tapering off into a rounded tip. “And yours are slender and…” He took in a breath and let it out with a short laugh. “I dunno.”

“You’re not afraid of me?” they finally said after a moment of awkward silence.

“Nope. As long as you’re done trying to kill me…” He chuckled nervously. “Kidding, kidding. I’m not afraid of you.”

“Should I be afraid of you?”

“I don’t see why. I’m pretty harmless.”

“Nice to meet you, Pretty Harmless, my name is Pyxis.” Ankyr blinked a few times, caught off-guard, so they added “That was a joke.”

It started with a quiet hissing sound made by the Inkling boy trying to keep his mouth closed, then quickly shifted to a loud cacophony of laughter from the both of them.

“That was great.”

“My name really is Pyxis though,” the Octoling said after clearing their throat. “That part wasn’t a joke.”

“I figured. My name’s Ankyr. I know, kind of unoriginal, but that’s kind of…” He trailed off, uncertain if this was the time to be discussing Inkopolis naming trends.

“No, I like it. It’s got personality. ”

“Maybe. Pyxis is better though.” Another awkward silence.

“I’ve never done this before,” Pyxis said. “Talked to someone from over there, I mean.”

“Me either. I mean… The other way around.”

“Are you… Are you sure your skin isn’t poisonous?”

“I’m like a hundred percent certain,” Ankyr said, holding out his hand, palm facing outward. Pyxis did the same and, after a moment’s hesitation, touched their palm to his.

“Cool,” the Octoling said, letting out a breath that was one part sigh of relief and one part laughing at themselves. “They’re the same.”

“Yep, just hands,” Ankyr said, raising up his other arm and placing his right hand against their left.

“Will your ink hurt me?”

“Well… Maybe accidentally, but… If I do this…” He focused his vision on Pyxis’s ruby red tentacles, and after a few seconds, his own turquoise tentacles shifted fluidly into a matching violet-red shade. “Let’s see,” he said before dropping into his squid form, his body fluidly twisting and shifting, his eyes now resting on top of a squid-like shape with two massive tentacles and several smaller ones.

The main difference between existing in a squid form as opposed to Inkling form, was the change of senses. The eyes were no longer the main sensory input, and sight took a backseat to everything else. Sound, taste, and most importantly smell and touch, were much stronger when in squid form. So while he couldn’t see Pyxis very well at the moment, he could definitely “feel” them shifting into their own mollusc form, with a much more rounded body and more slender tentacles.

The two swam in circles, excreting the small amount of ink one does without an ink tank, and eventually returned to the surface, resuming their bipedal forms.

“Cool,” Pyxis said again amid their shared laughter. They began to change their tentacles to a color similar to the turquoise that Ankyr had been sporting before, but their focus was interrupted by a loud beeping sound.

“Oh, I forgot,” they said, glancing down at their wrist before clicking a single button on a tiny device. “Communion… I have a… I have to go.”

“I understand,” Ankyr nodded as they both rose to their feet.

“I, um…”

“This was fun.”

“Yeah! Um..”

“Will I ever…?” Ankyr trailed off, kicking himself mentally.

“Can I…?”

“Yeah,” he said, a little too quickly. “I um, If you’re asking what I think you’re asking.”

“Can I see you again?” Pyxis finally stammered out.

“Definitely.”

“There’s just so many questions I have, and…”

“Me too. And you’re fun to hang out with, so…” Pyxis smiled at this and covered their face with their tentacles, right before their wrist gadget made its beeping proclamation a second time.

“Ugh! Alright, I really have to go now. See you-”

“Tomorrow?”

“Works for me.”

“Same time?”

“Make it earlier?”

“Sure!”

“Alright.”

“Okay.”

“See you then.”

“Definitely.”

After one more moment of awkward standing, Pyxis turned around and climbed back over the hill to the spot where they had “met”. Ankyr watched them disappear behind the hill before the realization hit him.

'That’s right, I have to go back too, I took a ferry here.’

When he reached the top of the hill, Pyxis was nowhere to be seen. He wondered how they had disappeared so fast, but saved those questions for another time. He descended to the spot where he found the first flower, and as soon as he stepped back onto the tourist trail, he was grabbed by another person’s hand and yanked out into the open.

“There you are! Captain, we found him!”

“You guys sent a search party?”

“Oh thank goodness!” Marianne came stomping down the trail, out of breath. “We thought you might have…”

“I’m okay” Ankyr said with a smile. “I got some awesome pictures, too!” Marianne let out a sigh that sounded like part relief and part frustration, and marched down the trail to the boat, mumbling something about tourists and heart attacks. Ankyr followed, stifling a chuckle.

\/\/\/\/\/

“Guys!” Ankyr waved at his friends at the other side of the lobby before running at them, squeezing between other Inklings when necessary.

“Oh, look who decided to show up,” Rocky said, suddenly finding the overhead battle screens very interesting.

“H-hey… Don’t be like that. I’m here now. Let’s do it to it!” He gave his friends a grin one could only describe as adorable and made a fist-pump gesture.

“Heeey, there’s my Sunshine!” Moises cheered as he galloped up to Ankyr and grabbed the edges of his smiling mouth, stretching them.

“Sto-op.”

“Aw, I’m just happy to see my Sunshine’s smile again,” Moises chuckled. “It’s been so long!”

“That’s enough, Moises,” Caurel said, grabbing one of the Jellyfish’s tentacles. “I like the color, Ankyr. Why that particular shade?”

“Oh, no reason,” he said, cheeks turning as red as his hair as Moises let go of them. “So, are we doing this thing?”

“You didn’t show up, so we already went ahead and entered regular Turf War,” Ecto explained, showing the screen of her wrist device.

“Oh… Looks like you got your eighth player,” he said, pointing to the column of green rectangular name slots on the screen.

“To the train!” Rocky shouted.

“TO THE TRAIN!” the others cheered.

“We’ll start a private battle after this one ends,” Caurel said “It’ll be worth the wait. Besides, you can come cheer us on!”

“Sure,” he nodded as the group exited the lobby. “Hey… Caasi and Penny aren’t coming today?”

“I sent them a text.”

\/\/\/\/\/

“Love, did you hide my jacket?”

“Hmmm… Check the bathroom,” Penny said drowsily from her spot on the bed. Her crustacean girlfriend was zipping around the apartment above the Yellow Submarine, making breakfast (at one in the afternoon) and getting dressed at the same time, but the young Inkling would rather stay under the covers.

“Oh yeah… Found it!”

“Yaaay. Now come back.”

“We should be on our way already. I know you got the text from Caurel this morning.”

“I heard a notification beep earlier, before you woke up,” Penny shrugged lazily. “I didn’t bother checking it, 'cause I figured it was somebody trying to get me to work on my off day. And I was too busy playing with your swimmerets.” Caasi stopped in her tracks and gave her significant other a bewildered stare before shaking her head.

“Why are you so weird?”

“Why are you not?” Penny laughed. “Now come back to be-ed.”

“Love, we have plans, remember? And the twins want you to cover for Sunshine.”

“They’ll be fine in a non-private for a while. A battle is for three minutes. They can survive that long.”

“Oh, so you only need three minutes?” Caasi said, placing most of her hands on her hips as she cruised back into the bedroom as smoothly as she could with the four limbs she designated as legs.

“I want more than that,” Penny said, raising up the blanket. “But I can work with three.”

Having an exoskeleton, there was no bare cheek skin to turn pink upon hearing this sentence. However, Caasi’s mandibles started moving in a particular way that her girlfriend equated to blushing, which made her smile.

\/\/\/\/\/

“Go left! Go left!” Without checking to see if her order had been followed, Caurel touched her Inkbrush Nouveau to the floor and ran out from her hiding place as quickly as she could. The brush spread orange ink all over the rusted metal of Bluefin Depot as she cruised around the topmost level. When she reached the wire mesh connecting it to the level beneath, she noticed Ecto on a lower platform, sniping the competition while unaware that a light-blue-tentacled Inkling was sneaking up behind her.

“Ecto!” Her shout didn’t reach the ears of her teammate, so she ran as fast as she could, dropping into squid form and swimming when she reached the lower level. It was too little too late, as the opponent splatted Ecto from behind with their shooter-class weapon. Caurel let out a frustrated sigh just as she was steamrolled from the side by a light blue Carbon Roller Deco in the hands of her twin brother.

As she floated through the air in her energy form, Caurel pondered the details of their team. She and her teammates were a cohesive unit, each Inkling performing their duties individually but always having each other’s backs. For instance, if Ankyr had been on their team, he would have been there to cover Ecto, as he almost always was. A Roller-wielder wouldn’t have been hard for him to take care of right after, either.

Meanwhile, if Rocky had her on his team, her superb stealth skills would have helped him breach the opposing team’s side far earlier in the match, not in the last half-minute.

Were they being spoiled by their own strategies? Maybe they should change up the way they played?

Her “ghost” reached the spawn point, and within seconds, her body re-formed; an orange liquid at first until it solidified into her Inkling body, complete with the clothes that had been left behind. I know, I know, just go with it. It’s a mystery to everyone.

She noticed Ecto jumping back into the fray, and swam after her as fast as she could.

“Sorry I didn’t make it to you in time.”

“Don’t sweat it, Kobra Kid,” Ecto said with a grin before charging up a shot and splatting Rocky from ten feet away. “Just get back in there. Twenty seconds!”

“I’m on it! What are you gonna do?”

“Splat as many as I can and run like Mercury,” Ecto laughed. “What else?”

Caurel dove into the ink and swam as fast as she could, jumping up and running when she had to. Within seconds, she had reached the central area of the Depot, on the left-hand side from where her base was. Her brush moved swiftly at its job, marking a thin streak of orange all over the ground. A sound and brief vibration from her phone indicated that the match was almost over.

'Ten seconds.’

Rocky had respawned and was diving down to the lowest level, giving his sister a vengeful glare. She smiled.

'He is so mad. I love it.’

Caurel flung her brush from side to side, gaining just enough points to fill the special gauge of her ink tank, and felt the massive stored energy surging through her body. She activated her Bubbler special and swam right into her brother’s trajectory, popping back up to the surface to splat him with a few furious swings of her brush.

'Six seconds.’

With her brother out of the way, Caurel inked as much of the remaining turf on the bottom level as she could and made her way up to the light blue team’s side. She swam up the wall to her far left and inked the side passage, covering blue with orange with wild flinging of her brush before bringing it to the floor and running as fast as she could.

'Three… Two… One…’

The loud whistle rang out over the Depot, and everyone stopped what they were doing, eyes on their device screens. A map of the area popped up with a gauge underneath. The colors of the teams filled the edges of the gauge slowly, before both rushed to meet each other in the center. The score read “43.1” on the light blue side, and “45.0” on the orange.

“WE WON!” Caurel tossed her brush into the air and jumped up and down, adrenaline still pumping through her system. The screens had switched to a breakdown of everyone’s points and performance, but she was no longer paying attention.

“Go Caurel!” a familiar voice boomed from the sidelines. “Go Ecto!” Caurel turned to see Ankyr waving emphatically, standing alone and looking very much like the dork he was. She then spun around to look in Ecto’s direction just in time to see her strike a pose with her charger leaning against her shoulder. The young engineer gave their male friend a lazy salute before resting her right hand on her hip.

'Wow… So cool…’

Meanwhile, Caurel’s Inkbrush Nouveau fell to the ground before she remembered that she had thrown it. Her cheeks bright orange, she picked up the weapon before bowing dramatically in Ankyr’s direction several times.

“Thank you, thank you, I’ll be here 'til Monday!” Her friends had a good laugh at her “performance,” clapping and cheering before her brother grabbed her by the shoulder and spun her around to face him.

“HEY,” he barked.

“Hey bro, waddup?” she said with an innocent smile.

Don’t 'waddup’ me. You know the only reason you’re not gunk beneath my roller right now is because of that stupid Bubbler!“

"Aaaw, does someone need a nap?” Everyone turned to see Caasi and Moises walking through the battlefield to meet them. The Crayfish teen didn’t seem to mind walking through the ink - in fact, she seemed not to notice at all, while Moises, who was walking up behind her, kept flinging it off of the tips of his tentacles. Ecto swam up soon as well.

“Caasi!” Caurel squeaked, running to her crustacean friend and promptly glomping her - literally jumping up onto the Crayfish’s body and clinging to it. “Did you see?! Did you see me rock out like a champ?”

“I saw,” Caasi said with a nod as the Inkling let go of her and slid back down to the ground. “You rocked. All of you did.”

“Wait,” Rocky said slowly “Did you just compliment ME? Are you sick, Caasi?”

“I’m in a good mood. Don’t ruin it by talking.”

“That’s more like the Caasi I know,” Rocky said, letting out a fake sigh of relief.

“BUTTERFLY!” Caurel greeted Penny, who was approaching with someone else in tow. The group recognized them as the waiter they had met the previous night.

“Abbey!” Rocky gave the newcomer a low bow. “I hope you enjoyed my performance!” The dreadlocked Inkling said nothing to this, glancing to the side to pretend Rocky didn’t exist.

“I heard you guys met yesterday,” Penny said. “So I figured I’d invite Abbey to watch before they have to go to work. How you doing, sugar cookie?” This was directed to Caurel, who she held her arms out for.

“Oh yeah,” Caurel said before glomping Penny. “CONGRATS ON THE PART! I’M SO HAPPY FOR YOU!”

“I can see that, Cricket,” Penny laughed, rocking from side to side with the weight of the orange-tentacled Inkling. “It’s a speaking role too! Only a few lines, but more than I was hoping for!” Caurel finally jumped off of her best friend to stand on her own feet, only for Ankyr, Ecto, and Moises to bombard Penny with a group hug.

“We’re really proud of you, Penny,” Ankyr said.

“You deserve this, "Ecto added. "You’ve more than earned it. You deserve it more than anyone I know.”

“Guys,” Penny laughed, pushing her friends off of her to wipe tears from her eyes. “Don’t make me cry, its too early for that.”

“It’s two in the afternoon,” Abbey pointed out.

“Right, time for Turf War! Sunshine, you mind taking backseat today? I haven’t gotten practice in forever.”

“Of course not, Party Poison,” Ankyr smiled, squeezing another hug out of her before they all departed for the train station.

“I’m happy we’re switching back to private,” Ecto said. “Although it was great to splat Rocky so many times.”

“Ectooooo!”

“When we’re on the battlefield, my name is Fun Ghoul,” Ecto laughed as she ran, knowing full well Rocky was running after her.

\/\/\/\/\/

“I’ve come to make a confession.”

“I am here to listen, my child.”

“I… I’ve come into contact with a Squid.”

“My child, that is less a cause for confession and more one for concern. I am so glad to see you survived. Were you hurt in any way?”

“No, I wasn’t hurt. They…”

“It?” the priest suggested.

“..The squid was very kind.”

“It spoke to you?”

“It… They told me their name and even joked with me.”

“I see…”

“I didn’t know who to talk to about this, or if I really should.”

“Thank you for coming to us with this information. I’m just glad that you are safe, thank the Lord.”

“They were really safe, actually. They… actually saved my life.”

“Oh, my child… I see. You must be delusional.”

“…What?”

“I understand that the mind can conjure strange things, when you are in shock. You must have been so frightened that you imagined such an outrageous event.”

“No, but it really happened.”

“Squids are incapable of things such as compassion, Pyxis. Now, you’ve been through a lot today. I recommend you go home and take a nap. Afterward, you should spend the afternoon in prayer and meditation before going back to sleep for the night. A long night’s rest will help you bounce right back from this. ”

“…Okay. Thank you.”

\/\/\/\/\/

'TEN SECONDS!’

Penny threw a Burst Bomb in one direction, and “ran like Mercury” the other way, sloshing as much lime green as she could along the asphalt of the parking lot until she reached an area that had already been claimed by her teammates. This was one of the rising platforms of Puffer Plaza - one on each side - That led to the highest point in the stage, which was also accessible via a twisting incline on the other side. The only other high points in this stage were the low rooftops and awnings of some of the shops in the plaza, and it seemed no one had really gone for them.

“Too late now,” she thought out loud as the platform rose up from the ground level. “Five seconds…” She flung her Slosher wildly, covering as much ink as she could until… DING!

She smiled and grabbed the tablet attached to her ink tank, glancing at the on-screen map for only a second before pressing down her index finger - harder than usual - on one of the two rooftop areas. Less than a second after, the match-ending whistle rang out through the battlefield, and everyone stopped what they were doing, but the projectile had already begun to launch, and soon a swirling tornado of lime green ink touched down on the opposite end of the stage, adding a last-second boost to the Killjoys’ turf.

“I KNEW IT!” one of the blue-tentacled Inklings on the opposing squad yelled, right before she broke out into a bout of cackling. Penny glanced at her phone screen, which declared her team the winners, before jumping down from the high-rise and running toward the other end of the shopping plaza to meet the younger girl. All eight opponents, as well as their friends and fans, soon converged to the center.

“Noodle,” Penny greeted nonchalantly, with a wide grin she couldn’t stifle, as the two shared a well-rehearsed and complicated handshake.

“Poison,” her friend said as they finally embraced. “Where you been, punk? I haven’t seen you around the game in a hot minute.”

“Yeah, been taking extra shifts at the Submarine,” Penny shrugged as they let go of each other. “Not anymore, though. I got the part!”

“SHE GOT THE PART!” Noodle yelled, and many of the assembled crowd cheered and jumped up and down with the Killjoys.

“Hi, sorry, who got what part?” another voice rose up from the crowd as a Sea Anemone squeezed her way through. Her “hair” was a lime green similar to the Killjoys’ current color, though she was born with hers. When she saw the roller-wielder of said group, though, she lost all pretense of caring about the present conversation. “ROCKY, THERE YOU ARE!”

“Oh, no,” Rocky groaned as the Anemone bolted toward him and glomped him as fast as physically possible. “GET. OFF.”

“You were so cool out there, Rocky! I loved the part where you tricked Stuart into going around the other side of that truck and then splatted him.”

“Hey,” one of the blue-tentacled Inklings said, indignant. “He launched a Seeker the other way, I wasn’t gonna go there.”

“Rory,” Rocky growled, trying to escape from the Anemone’s grasp. “Would you kindly. Get off!”

“Oh, you’re so silly, Rocky,” the lime green Sea Anemone giggled, but her laughter soon turned to painful squeaks when Caurel grabbed her by the ear. “Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow!” She finally let go of the Inkling, and his sister let go of her ear. Most of the crowd started to move on, leaving Rory to pout by herself.

“When are you gonna learn, kiddo?” Penny asked, patting Rory on the shoulder when she had finally disengaged from her conversation with Noodle. Rory, however, was ignoring her, having noticed Rocky showing off to Abbey as the crowd moved toward a restaurant, asking them if they were impressed with his performance in the match.

“Who… is she?”

“They,” Penny corrected, “are a new friend of mine. Abbey. They just started working at the Submarine.” No response for quite some time, and Penny, Caasi, and Noodle stood beside the young plant girl until she finally spoke again.

“Why does he like her?”

“Are you asking me?” Penny scoffed. “I am the last person to know how that all works. Why does anyone like anyone? Why do I love Caasi?”

“Mmm, I love hearing that,” the Crayfish said, wrapping a claw over her girlfriend’s shoulder. “'I love Caasi’. Such poetry, such magnanimity.”

“I… Don’t think that word goes there, babe,” Penny said.

“Hm… Let’s ask Caurel.”

“Good idea.” The two slowly followed the crowd toward the restaurant, Caasi mumbling something about people not liking people who don’t respect their boundaries, all of which was either unheard or ignored by Rory, as usual.

“Chemicals,” Noodle said, walking up beside Rory and clearing her throat. “It’s chemicals. Simple as that.”

“How do I change them?” Rory asked after a moment of silent thought.

“I don’t think you can,” the young Inkling chuckled, throwing an arm around her. “C'mon, Rory, let’s get some food. You’ll feel better with a full belly.”

“I don’t think so. I don’t think I can eat with my stomach full of all these… little things…”

_“ALL THE,”_ Penny started singing at the top of her lungs, turning around to face Noodle and Rory, _“SMALL THINGS. TRUE CARE, TRUTH BRINGS.”_ Never stopping her song, she marched toward them with a huge grin on her face, and once she reached them, turned around and hooked an arm around one of each of theirs. _“I’LL TAKE, ONE LIFT. YOUR RIDE, BEST TRIP.”_

_“Always, I know,”_ Caasi joined in, squeezing in between Penny and Rory, _“you’ll be, at my show.”_

“LOUDER,” her girlfriend demanded with a cackle and a kiss, and to which Caasi shrugged.

_“WATCHING, WAITING, COMMISERATING.”_

_“SAY IT AIN’T SO,”_ Noodle and Rory joined in, _“I WILL NOT GO. TURN THE LIGHTS OFF, CARRY ME HOME.”_ The majority of the crowd ahead of them turned to give them a supporting chorus.

_“NA-NA NA-NA NA-NA, NA-NA NA NA, NA-NA NA-NA NA-NA, NA-NA NA NA!”_

\/\/\/\/\/

Pyxis laid on their bed and stared at the glow-in-the-dark stars on the ceiling and walls. They had showered and taken a nap as directed, the entire time reminding themself of everything they had been taught about the person they had met that morning.

“Squids are the enemy of all we hold dear. They are savage, brutal creatures who would sooner tear out your heart than say 'hello’. Their teeth are razor-sharp, their physical strength is great enough to demolish a house, and their skin is poisonous to the touch.”

'That’s not true, though. I touched their hands, and I’m fine.’

They held their hands up in the air, moving them from front to back, staring at them.

“This is why we do not approach them. After our soldiers were massacred in the Great Turf War, we Octopi retreated underground to live in peace. Squids may speak intelligent languages, but they have only learned them to deceive, manipulate, and lure small Octopus children into their grasp. They do not understand things like compassion and kindness. They think only of their next meal, their favorite food being Octopus flesh.”

'But they didn’t try to eat me at all. They actually saved my life. I know that really happened! I don’t care what the priest says.’

Some part of Pyxis’ mind was caught in a paranoid loop of expecting to get sick all of a sudden, or imagining that someone had followed them home and would move in for the kill once they went to sleep. But…

“They’re a good person. I can tell. They wouldn’t have saved me if all of that stuff was true. I… I want to see them again. I want… I want them to be my friend.”

\/\/\/\/\/


	3. A Whole New World

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No, it's not named after that song. I'm not saying there won't be romance for our MC's at some point, but it's not the focus right now. XD

**3\. A Whole New World**

More than a month passed by, and Summer was beginning to show signs of its arrival. Most Inklings Ankyr’s age couldn’t think of anything but Summer vacation, which was still about two months away. And, of course, Turf War. The squid kid in question, however, had been disappearing between matches or simply not showing up multiple times, making his friends concerned and, in the case of Rocky, aggravated. Caurel, being the person she was, demanded that they all respect Ankyr’s privacy and insisted that the male Inkling could tell them whatever needed to be told in his own good time. Everyone agreed, but Ankyr did start sending text messages when he was about to disappear again. His latest disappearing act, however, was put on hold, as he had forgotten that the first weekend of Third Month, or Maya, as it was also called, was approaching. And for these three nights and two days, it was tradition for their group - and many citizens of Inkopolis and the surrounding areas - to take part in a festival of bright lights, unhealthy food, and chaotic good times that only happened once a year.

“Die, Octopus scum!”

POP! POP!

Two balloons shaped and colored like Octarians exploded with well-aimed shots from a dart gun mounted to a counter.

“Don’t you think that’s a bit offensive?” Ankyr asked as he watched Rocky score points at the carnival game.

“He doesn’t think much at all,” Caasi couldn’t help but tease, snickering. Though her insult cost her a smack from her girlfriend, who had an arm around her waist, she didn’t mind in the slightest.

BUZZZZZ!

“Oh come on!” Rocky let out a string of curse words at the timer and threw the dart gun, which was expertly caught by the old military squid running the booth.

“Better luck next time, Jet-Star,” she said with a wink as she handed him a large Octarian plush toy, which was unceremoniously tossed backward and caught by his twin sister. “See you tomorrow?”

“Give me one more go, Cherry, JUST ONE MORE!” The older Inkling shook her head.

“Kid, don’t you remember why I cut you down to one game a day in the first place?”

“But this is an ANNUAL fair! And you’re only here two nights out of the whole week! THAT’S TWO GAMES A YEAR!” Caasi let out a fake gasp upon hearing that.

“Rocky, you just did _math! I’m so proud of you!”_

“YOU STAY OUT OF THIS!”

“Rocky, come on,” Caurel said, pulling her twin away from the booth before he could resist. “Let’s go before she bans you forever. And the rest of us.”

“Seeya tomorrow, kids,” Cherry waved. “Good luck with that one.”

“Bye, Cherry,” the group chimed, aside from Rocky, who was flailing and cursing.

“Okay, I’m done with this,” he said when he calmed down. “Let’s go back to the Plaza.”

“It’s Squidbeak Days,” Ecto said. “Nobody’s gonna be in Turf War.”

“Somebody’s always in Turf War,” Ankyr pointed out, but was immediately shushed by the female Inkling.

“Why are you so lazy today, Ecto?” Rocky asked.

“Not lazy,” she shook her head. “Just trying to catch some mad inspiration from the new rides this year.”

“We should’ve known,” Caurel guffawed.

“Whatever, I’m out,” Rocky persisted. “If you’re all gonna keep wasting your time here, I’ll at least be useful and increase my rank.”

“Wait,” Caurel said. “Let’s make it an even split. Who wants to go cheer on Rocky? I know I’m staying here, I wanna ride coasters ‘til I’m pureed.”

“I second that notion,”“ Moises said.

"What do you say, love?” Caasi asked, turning to Penny. “Wanna go watch Jet-Star make a fool of himself?”

“HEY!”

“I’d love to go cheer him on,” Penny said, throwing a reprimanding glance to her girlfriend before turning her attention to Caurel. “I will miss you, strawberry jelly.”

“Not as much as I’ll miss you, banana oatmeal,” Caurel said, hugging her best friend.

“Disgusting,” Caasi said as Penny turned to hook an arm around Caasi’s claw and the other around Rocky’s arm.

“Let’s go, guys.”

“What about you, Ankyr?” Caurel asked.

“Um… I think I’ll go for a boat ride.”

“What?” Caurel asked, eyebrows raised.

“Pardon?” Moises gawked.

“This late?” Penny asked.

“I… I was thinking of seeing the fireworks and neon lights from farther away, y'know, seeing it reflected on the ocean…”

“Oooh, I like the sound of that,” Penny said, yanking Caasi’s clawed arm up and down. “Babe, take me out to do that later tonight!” Caasi chuckled and nodded, but Rocky squinted at Ankyr.

“What’s really going on here? Why are you being such a girl?” Rocky asked, making Ankyr’s demeanor completely change.

“Soy sauce,” the older Inkling said, bordering on a shout, and Rocky’s expression softened.

“…Sorry. You know I-”

“It’s alright… We’re cool. Have fun, dude.”

“Leaving so soon?” another voice asked, and many groans rose up from the group as they turned to face the newcomer.

A group of six Inklings approached them, led by a male with short-shaved red tentacles and a broad lightning bolt mark on his face to match.

“Do you really need that much practice?” the red-head continued with a wide grin.

“Hello, Ziggy,” half of the Killjoys greeted in a tired tone.

“Gasp!” the tattooed squid kid exclaimed, holding a hand to his chest in faux-astonishment. “You sound like you’re not happy to see me! But that can’t be… It’s a well-known fact that everybody loves me!”

“What do you want, Ziggy?” Rocky snapped, limited patience already worn out.

“I was just wondering what team you guys are picking for this month’s Splatfest.”

“We don’t even know what they are yet,” Ecto said in a tone that suggested this should be obvious. Before she could raise her arm to look at her wrist device, a loud beep rang out from it - and from the phones and devices of everyone else present.

“Oh, look at that,” Ziggy said with a devilish smile. “It’s midnight. What a coincidence!” Most of the Killjoys rolled their eyes or ignored him in favor of reading their messages, but Rocky went on a tirade about how he couldn’t stand the other boy, his attitude, and his lightning bolt-emblazoned face.

“Queso,” Ecto said without a second thought.

“Salsa,” Ankyr said with a shrug.

“Salsa,” Caurel agreed.

“Queso,” Rocky and Penny said together.

“Salsa,” Caasi said, nudging Penny in the side.

“No, queso,” the Inkling insisted.

“Salsa,” the Crayfish said.

“Queso.”

“Salsa!”

“Queso!”

“Queso!”

“Ques… What?”

“Reversal failed,” Ziggy laughed, fake-applauding Caasi’s attempt. “Nice try, though.”

“Zip it, star-boy!”

“Good thing I’m not an Inkling,” Moises shrugged. “You should never be made to choose between the two. You should always have equal portions of both.”

“Always?” Caurel grinned.

“This is my belief,” Moises nodded sagely. “Just like you should never be forced to choose between rice and bread.”

“Hopefully that’ll never be a Splatfest question,” Ecto said gravely.

“Or between udon and soba,” Moises went on. “Or pancakes and waffles…”

“Clearly the superior choice in that one is french toast,” Ecto said, causing the Jellyfish to shake his head.

“I’m so disappointed in you.”

“Anyway, I’m off to the station,” Rocky said. “You dorkfishes can keep doing whatever you’re doing.”

“Wait up!” Penny pulled Caasi along behind her as she followed their obstinate friend.

“Alas, I must part ways with you as well,” Ziggy said, giving the remainder of the Killjoys a low bow. “Can’t let Jet-Star go in Ranked without me, can I?”

“See you later, Ziggy,” Caurel said with a smile. “Be nice.” Ziggy grinned.

“Never.”

\/\/\/\/\/

“Pyxis?” Ankyr whisper-shouted into the darkness, just before it was pierced by an exploding firework launched from the coast behind him. Pink light showered onto everything for the shortest moment before retreating and surrendering to the dark of night.

“Pyxis?” he repeated, stepping forward. “Are you there?”

“I’m here,” the Octoling’s voice announced from high above. Another firework blast lit up the cliffs long enough for Ankyr to see Pyxis jump down, and by the time the next one fired off, they were right in front of him. “Hey, Pretty Harmless.”

“Hey!”

“How did you know I would be out here?” they asked as they sat down, facing Inkopolis and all the vivid lights of the festival.

“I… didn’t,” Ankyr said, taking a seat next to them. “I just hoped. I mean…”

“I kind of hoped you’d come by tonight, too,” they grinned.

“So, um,” Ankyr cleared his throat after an awkward silence - albeit one filled with smiles.

“Yep,” Pyxis nodded. “'So um’, indeed.”

“Are you out on patrol tonight? I don’t see the charger…”

“Nah, patrol never happens at night. Only grave watch, and that’s down under.” Upon seeing his puzzled expression, they continued. “It’s a long story, but basically we live underground.”

“Down there?” Ankyr asked, pointing a thumb behind them, to Octo Valley.

“Yep. It’s easier to get there than it looks. I mean… Anyway…”

Another moment of silence.

“Why are you out here, anyway?”

“Well… I like watching the fireworks. There are a lot of nights that they happen, but I didn’t know until I got this job. They went off right at the end of my shift one evening, and I was… mesmerized. Fireworks aren’t really a thing anymore, down there, I mean. I don’t know why… Anyway, I stayed out way later than I’m allowed to, just to watch them. Which… I’ve kind of made a habit of, on those nights. I have a calendar… I’ve been working on it for a while. Oh my gosh listen to me go on. Ankyr, why didn’t you stop my rambling?”

“I… didn’t think there was a problem?” They both chuckled. “I’m cool with listening to you talk. Less chance for me to say something stupid.” Pyxis guffawed at this.

“Oh hey! You’re from over there! You must know the reason for the fireworks!”

“Oh, uh… Yeah… I do.”

“Well?!” They grabbed Ankyr’s arm and yanked it back and forth.

“I, uh… Are you sure you want to know?”

“Of course I want to know!”

“Okay, well… Every year, for three days and two nights, there’s a big festival with rides and stuff. It celebrates the… victory of the Great Turf War.”

“Oh…” Pyxis’ shoulders slumped, and they folded their hands together.

“I’m sorry, I know that history has a completely different meaning for you. I… I don’t know what to say.”

“It was a war,” Pysi said after a silent moment. “If the Octopi won, we would be celebrating now instead, because history and culture and whatnot. That’s the way it goes.”

“So… You don’t hate me?”

“What?” They shook their head. “Is that why you were worried about telling me? No, Ankyr, I don’t hate you. You haven’t done anything wrong. What I hate is that people destroyed each other when they could’ve all gotten along and worked together to create a better solution. It’s ridiculous to the point of infuriating.”

“I couldn’t agree more.” This put a smile on the Octoling’s face.

“I’m glad. Now, if you acted like a jerk about it all instead of being… you, then yeah, I’d have problems.”

“I’ll keep being me, then,” Ankyr laughed.

“Good. So, tell me about the other firework nights. There won’t be any more for a while, right? Oh, but there’s that one night where the whole city lights up! That’s in about four and a half months, if I recall correctly.”

“The town festival,” Ankyr nodded. “There’s great music, too. You should come check it out, y'know, close-up.”

“Me?” Their eyes went wide. “Go there? That… That would be awesome!”

“Yeah!”

“Do I have to wait that long, though?”

“Hm… Why don’t you come to the next Splatfest?”

“Splatfest?”

“Every month we have a twenty-four-hour festival where we decide which of two choices we want, and… Y'know what, it’s a long story.”

“You mean the two nights a month where there are glowing images all over the sky?” Pyxis asked, eyes widening again. “I’d love to go to that!”

“I’d love for you to be there,” Ankyr said, scratching the back of his head. “There is one thing, though, I should tell you beforehand… We have this thing where we battle each other… Not as violently as a real war or anything, we don’t have any weapons powerful enough to really kill anyone. But… It’s our most popular sport, and Splatfest revolves around it.”

“Okay?”

“It’s called Turf War.”

“Ah.” Pyxis nodded.

“Because you have to ink the most turf to win… It’s just a game.”

“Ankyr, I get it,” the Octoling said, throwing their arms around him. “I’m not angry, I just have a lot of thoughts. Let’s just sit quietly and watch the fireworks for a minute.”

“Yeah… That sounds good.”

“Good.”

“Um… You do still want to come to Splatfest though, right?”

“Of-course-I-wan-na-go!” They shook Ankyr from side to side a moment, before stopping and patting him on the back and shoulders. “Sorry about that… I get carried away…”

“It’s okay,” Ankyr laughed. “How 'bout those fireworks, though, right?”

“Yeah,” they nodded, throwing an arm over his shoulder. “How 'bout 'em.”

The two sat on the rocks just as they were, watching the fireworks, though they couldn’t stay silent for long when neither of them ever ran out of things to talk about around each other.

“What kind of place do you live in?” Ankyr asked.

“Oh… Radical City. Far below the ground, beneath the Octarian caves. There are other cities like it, but most are across the sea, from what I’ve heard.”

“Is it dark?”

“No, we have solar panels above-ground that bring energy to us. It’s used for lighting and weather, mostly.”

“Weather?”

“Yeah, there’s… Well…”

“You don’t have to get into it,” Ankyr said. “I’ll never try to make you talk about anything you don’t want to talk about.”

“It’s just complicated,” Pyxis laughed. “You’ll think I’m silly, but the church always claimed the sunlight and weather were a gift from the deity they… we worship. It was discovered that the weather is really produced by a machine our ancestors took from the surface…” They let out a breathless laugh. “But the church denies the machine’s existence and insists on its version of the truth.”

“I’m liking this church of yours less and less,” Ankyr said, covering his mouth when he caught himself. “I’m sorry… That’s probably… That’s rude. I don’t even…”

“Ankyr, calm down,” Pyxis shook their head. “I know about my religion’s lies and shortcomings. Well, maybe not all of them; there could be more. But I’m not ready to… do anything about it. Not yet. I have to think about it. My friends in the city keep telling me to move uptown with them, forget about my family and everything. I know they only have my best interests at heart, but… It’s not that simple.”

“Can I meet your friends someday?” Ankyr asked with a smile.

“Well… I’d have to tell them about you first,” they laughed, brushing a tentacle out of their face. “I still haven’t done that yet… to anyone.”

“Me either,” Ankyr said. Both faces turned violet-red, and both of them stared at the fireworks once more.

“It’s just that,” Pyxis started, still watching the colorful explosions of light, “I don’t want to… I don’t know. I like this, how this is right now. Us talking to each other. This is nice.”

“It is,” Ankyr nodded.

“Is that selfish?”

“If it is, I’m just as selfish as you,” he giggled. “I like that it’s just us when we hang out.”

“Yeah, I can talk to you about things I don’t feel comfortable saying to anyone else.”

“Same. And you kind of take the weight of my angst away from everyone else. I’m… sorry if that’s terrible.”

“Maybe just a little bit terrible,” Pyxis laughed. “But also great. And honest. Which is nice.”

“Well, I try.”

The two fell silent once more, staring at the fireworks, only speaking to point out a particularly gorgeous design or color scheme.

“Ankyr,” Pyxis eventually spoke up. “I’ve been wanting to ask you something for a while… Will you be my friend?” Ankyr gave them an amused glance, and soon burst out into laughter. “What? Why are you laughing?”

“Sorry,” the Inkling said once he caught his breath. “It’s just… I thought we already were friends.” Pyxis smiled. “But yes. Yes, I would love to be your friend.”

\/\/\/\/\/

“I’ve got to get going soon,” Ankyr said. “If I’m not back before it’s light out, I’ll be in trouble.”

“Parents?” Pyxis guessed.

“Nah… The boat house isn’t exactly open at night.”

“You stole a rent boat?” Pyxis asked, eyes wide.

“I left money!”

“Oh my gosh,” they shook their head, smiling. “You really are Pretty Harmless.”

“What do you mean?”

“You’re just… Really innocent. Pure. Like a nudibranch puppy.”

“I’m not that innocent,” Ankyr said, cheeks turning violet-red. “I’ve done… things.”

“Oh yeah?” they chuckled. “What kinds of things?”

“Well… For one, I stole a boat.”

“You paid for it.”

“Yeah, but I paid for it _illegally.”_ This made Pyxis laugh more.

“Okay, get out of here, you dangerous criminal. I’ve got to return before sunrise, too.”

“Sure thing,” Ankyr said as they both rose to their feet. “When can we hang out again?”

“Um… Do you have anything to do Tuesday afternoon?”

“Nope, totally clear.”

“I guess I’ll see you then.”

“I guess so,” he smiled.

\/\/\/\/\/

Another week passed in the blink of an eye, and Splatfest was just beginning. As soon as school let out, multitudes of battlers had rushed to Inkopolis Plaza to decorate for the festival, and now that the sun had set, it was time to celebrate. There were stages already set up, two in front near the lobby, and several in the side-streets around Inkopolis Tower. Any moment now, one of the two main stages would be occupied by the opening band, and massive crowds were sure to form in front of them beforehand.

“Almost midnight,” Ecto said, looking at her wrist device. “Where’s Sunshine?”

“Here!” the very Inkling in question shouted, squeezing through the crowd. He was wearing a red tee identical to the one worn by Caurel, as opposed to the yellow worn by Rocky, Ecto, and Penny. Caasi wore a bright-red jacket opposed to her usual blue and brown, obviously trying to represent her extreme love of salsa. Moises wore a tank top that was red and yellow, split down the middle, with white text that read “Make love and food, not war”. Abbey simply wore their usual type of clothing, an immaculately cleaned and ironed dress shirt buttoned to the top with matching pants and spiffy brown boots. Today’s suit was white, and with the festival lights reflecting off of them, Abbey was the brightest living thing in the plaza.

They all turned to see their missing team member arrive, and their eyes widened when they noticed he was pulling someone behind him.

“Who is this?” Rocky asked.

“Made it through the crowd okay,” Ankyr said, ignoring Rocky for the moment to hand Pyxis his water bottle and pat them on the back. “You alright?”

“I’ll be fine,” they nodded once they downed the remainder of the water. This was when they lowered their view from the captivating SplatNet posts glowing above the city, and noticed the group of people staring at them. “Oh… Hi…”

“Ankyr,” Caasi spoke up first. “You… brought a friend!” Pyxis lowered their gaze after glancing at each of them for the slightest moment.

“This is why you’ve been ditching so much?” Rocky asked, glaring at both of them.

“'This’ is a person,” Pyxis said, suddenly confident enough to speak, “and can be spoken to.” They crossed their arms. Caurel, Penny, and Abbey applauded the Octoling, and the others standing behind the male Inkling bombarded him with low “Ohhhhhh"s.

"Who is she?” Rocky asked, ignoring his jeerers to glance from Ankyr to Pyxis, then back to his childhood friend.

“I prefer they,” Pyxis corrected, giving him a short bow.

“Right, who are…” Rocky cut himself off and averted his attention to the Octoling, finally addressing them. “Who are you? How long have you known Ankyr? Why haven’t we seen you before?”

“Pyxis, a month and some change, and… I don’t know, neither of us thought about it before?”

“That’s not a real answer!”

“…Which one?”

“You know which one!”

“More importantly,” Ecto said, stepping in front of her hot-headed friend, “and this is probably the most important question I’m ever gonna ask you… Salsa or queso?”

“Pardon?” Pyxis raised an eyebrow.

“She’s talking about the Splatfest,” Ankyr said.

“Oh, so this month it’s salsa versus queso,” Pyxis nodded.

“So?” Ecto asked, and most of the group leaned in closer in expectation.

“Um… I don’t know.”

“You 'don’t know’?” Rocky echoed. “That’s not acceptable! This is Splatfest! You have to have an answer!”

“Calm down,” Caurel said in a bored tone, grabbing the collar of her brother’s tee and yanking him away from their new acquaintance, who was having a light laugh at his behavior.

“I’ve just never had either,” they shrugged. Hearing this, Moises gaped at her.

“You’ve never had queso or salsa?”

“I mean, I’ve known about them. But the Sacred Codex says that resisting unnecessary sensations brings you closer to the divine. They don’t make you guys follow that here?”

“Sounds to me like you’re in a cult,” Abbey said. This made Pyxis laugh, but they stopped when the female Inkling’s serious expression remained.

“You… You’re not joking.”

“I never joke about dangerous crud like that. Whatever group you’re in, if they’re using force, persuasion, whatever, to control what food you eat or what music you listen to, what clothes you wear, anything like that at all, it’s a cult.”

“I…” Pyxis felt their stomach clench more and more at everything Abbey mentioned. “It may… Some of that may be true, but…”

“I’m not gonna try to argue with you,” the Inkling shrugged, holding their hands up. “I just want you to keep in mind one thing: groups like that do not care about you.”

“Abbey, ease up,” Ankyr said, gently grabbing hold of Pyxis’ hand.

“It’s true,” Caasi spoke up, more gently than any of her friends would have expected, considering her usual behavior. “They pretend to care about you - maybe some of them actually do. But they really just want to control you, and they’ll throw you away if they decide you’re not really 'one of them’. That’s their last choice of action though, because they’ll try to keep as many numbers as they can.”

“Caasi…?” Rocky grabbed hold of one of the Crayfish’s claws, lowering his guard just enough to look into his friend’s eyes. “Are you… Do you need to talk… I mean…?”

“I’m okay, roller-boy,” Caasi said with a gentle pat on the Inkling boy’s head. She turned her attention back to Pyxis as her claw was released by Rocky, only to be grasped by Penny.

“They only really care about spreading their 'truth’, whatever that may be. They send their people to different neighborhoods, different towns, even different countries if they can afford it - all to convert people, recruit them into their belief system, their 'family’. More people to have power over. If they really cared about the people they take in, they’d let them think for themselves. But no, they don’t think of them as people, they don’t understand things like basic decency or-”

“Honey,” Penny cut her off, caressing one of her girlfriend’s feelers with her hand. “This is a new friend. They didn’t do anything. You’re here, not there. I’ve got you.”

“I-I know,” Caasi said, shaking her off and turning around. Before Pyxis could say anything, she had melded into the ever-moving crowd.

“Don’t worry, she’ll be back,” Penny said. “It takes a while for her to cool down.” Pyxis nodded, not feeling much like talking anymore.

“In the meantime,” Ankyr spoke up, clearing his throat, “Pyxis, meet the Fabulous Killjoys.” He gestured to each person in turn. “Rocky, a.k.a. Jet-Star, our 'fearless leader’…”

“Meh,” Rocky said, giving them a dismissive wave before directing his attention to his phone.

“Ecto, battle name Fun Ghoul, the smartest person I’ll probably ever know, who can fix and/or build anything…”

“Stop, I’m blushing,” Ecto smiled, busy at work putting in her contact lenses. “No, but really, don’t stop, keep it coming.” Most of the group laughed at this, and Pyxis’ smile started to return.

“Penny, also known as Party Poison, who’s a legitimate hired actor now!” He jumped up and down excitedly with most of the little gang, letting out screeches of joy, while Pyxis, Rocky, and Abbey applauded. Once he calmed down, he continued with the introductions. “Caasi… just left. Anyway, Caasi is the crawfish woman. She’s awesome, I promise. You’ll love her once you get to know her.”

“I never put any stock in first impressions,” Pyxis winked, patting him on the shoulder.

“Good way to live your life,” Abbey nodded.

“This is Abbey, who’s not one of the Killjoys officially, but we’re trying to win them over.” The dreadlock-sporting Inkling gave a small smile at this. “And this cool Jellyfish over here is Moises, our biggest fan and founding member.”

“Sunshine, you forgot about me,” Caurel said, crossing her arms.

“I was saving you for last, I promise,” Ankyr smiled, scooting over and throwing his arms around her.

“Sunshine?” Pyxis giggled. “They call you Sunshine. I love it.”

“Isn’t he the biggest ball of sunshine?” Moises asked, pinching Ankyr’s cheek, which made the Inkling scrunch up his face.

“He is.”

“Anyway,” Ankyr resumed, “This is Caurel, who goes by Kobra Kid in battle. She’s the glue that holds us together. And keeps us from crossing too many lines. The stepper-inner, basically. Me and her are pretty much the 'mom friends’ of the group.”

“She and I,” Pyxis and Caurel corrected simultaneously. They stared at each other, bemused, before bursting into laughter. The entire group devolved into arguments about whether grammar really mattered, until Ankyr realized he had forgotten someone.

“Where’s Rory?”

“She’s got prior engagements,” Caurel said.

“Thank the Ocean Goddess!” Rocky shouted, raising his arms in the air dramatically.

“Am I missing something?” Pyxis asked.

“Rory is a friend of ours,” Ankyr explained. “Our other biggest fan. Don’t… Don’t tell her I said Moises is our biggest fan. She’ll hurt me.”

“Okay?” the Octoling laughed.

“She’s… overly passionate and excited like 100% of the time. And madly infatuated with Rocky.”

“And tries to pursue a relationship with him even though he’s already said no,” Caurel added in a flat tone. “So you can imagine how full my hands would be if she were here right now.” Pyxis smiled at her.

“Stepper-inner?”

“Yeah, I does what I gots ta’,” Caurel said, crossing her arms with a wide grin. Most of the gang had a chuckle at this, right before the sound of a guitar drew their attention to the left-hand stage.

“Just checking everything, guys,” a pink Urchin spoke into a microphone. “We won’t start before the announcement, we promise.”

Ecto checked the time, while most of the assembled crowd cheered.

“Five minutes to midnight,” she said.

“You’re really ready for this,” Abbey chuckled.

“Ready for Team Queso to win,” the young inventor said, “as it should.”

“Word,” Penny smiled, bumping her fist against Ecto’s.

“Are you all going to battle?” Pyxis asked.

“Well, me and Caasi don’t produce ink,” Moises said. “But we’re definitely gonna watch and cheer on our squadmates.”

“I was planning on sticking around for a while,” Ankyr said. “Listen to some of the new local bands. I know Squid Squad is gonna be amazing, but there are so many new sounds to check out. And Tomorrow’s Warning is one of the opening bands, so…”

“Aw, you always do opening battle with us,” Caurel fake-pouted.

“Ssshh!” Rocky said. “The longer he stays here, that’s one less salsa person playing.”

“Queso’s going down anyway,” his sister said, sticking out her tongue.

“Not a chance!”

A loud jingle and light from the large overhead screen interrupted their squabble. The Inkopolis News logo displayed for a moment on the screen before it gave way to a video image of four musicians with wild hairdos.

“You know what time it is,” announced the enthusiastic orange-tentacled Inkling girl standing behind a keyboard.

“Inkopolis News Time,” continued a purple-headed guitarist, who picked a few notes in rapid succession.

“Not only that, but Splatfest starts tonight!”

“Yep! Got those stages for us, Ikkan? …Ikkan?”

“I got it,” another Inkling with magenta tentacles said, rising from the large amplifier he was perched on. “You guys could do some work sometime too. Just sayin’.”

“What, we are working,” the purple-headed one said. “We have to keep our fans interested. So, what stages will this all-important debate be battled out on?”

“It will be… Urchin Underpass…

"OH YEAH!” the female Inkling shouted, throwing her fist in the air. “The one and only! Streets as smooth as my keyboard solos!”

“Didn’t you bomb the closing solo of that one show, Namida…?” the guitarist asked.

“You mess up one time, ONE TIME, and they never let you forget it!”

“Moonage Daydream,” Ikkan continued reading, ignoring his bandmates.

“That is the freshest place to party,” Namida nodded.

“They give us free soda when we play there,” the guitarist said with a lilt in his voice, salivating.

“YOU DON’T NEED MORE CAFFEINE!” the drummer shouted.

“SPEAK FOR YOURSELF, MURASAKI!” This exchange made Namida fall down laughing, but Ikkan simply sighed and shook his head before continuing with the stage announcements.

“…And Saltspray Rig.”

“Guys, remember to sign the petition to keep the rig shut down,” the guitarist said. “Don’t let big corporations steer us away from clean energy!” Namida shook her head from where she was still lying on the floor.

“Ichiya, our fans won’t like us as much if we’re preachy…”

“So, yeah,” Ikkan said, shoving the paper into his jeans pocket. “Those are the stages. Have fun or whatever. Best of luck to everyone, may the best team win, tip your waitstaff, et cetera…”

“Yowsa!” Namida said, jumping up to her feet. “Sounds like an explosive time. So what are we waiting for? And when you’re taking a break from battling, don’t forget we’ll be jumping on the Right SquidForce stage at two and rocking out the rest of the night! Come by and see us!”

“See you guys in the mosh pit,” their guitarist said with a casual salute. The drummer played a quick solo before the screen shifted to the news logo once again. Shortly after, it faded to a commercial break.

“I am not gonna do well at Moonage Daydream,” Ecto said.

“Not do well?” Caurel echoed. “Ghoul, do you not understand how good you are?”

“There’s only one good place to snipe from, and it’s… not that good. I mean, other than the one that’s not worth it. I’m gonna have to change it up.”

“I can watch your back,” Rocky said, exuding confidence.

“No, we need you to ink as much turf as possible with your roller. We both have to play our part… IF we get grouped together.”

“I mean, it’s a twenty-four-hour thing, dude. We will for at least some of the battles.”

“That’s what I meant.”

“So, to the lobby?” Penny asked.

“To the lobby!” the majority of the group shouted, before turning and marching off. Caurel and Moises gave Ankyr and Pyxis hugs before they left, and the two waved at the departing group before Ankyr turned to his Octoling friend and took a deep breath.

“So, you wanna check out Tomorrow’s Warning?”

“I don’t know who that is, but I’m down,” Pyxis smiled. “Wherever you go, I’ll stick with you.”

“Just what I was planning, muwahaha!” This made Pyxis laugh as the two walked down the street between Booyah Base and Inkopolis Tower.

\/\/\/\/\/

“Can somebody else please do _something?”_ Rocky yelled, frustrated, as he set a Seeker bomb and ran for cover. The inevitable explosion took out one red-colored Inkling, but two more closed in on him. Unfortunately, the place he had run to was a corner which he was quite literally being backed into.

Before they could attack him, or he could set down another Seeker, a volley of yellow Burst Bombs bombarded the two opponents and splatted them. Rocky opened his eyes to see Ziggy standing there, his usually red lightning bolt now colored the same yellow as his tentacles. He winked at Rocky before swimming away.

“ZIGGY!”

Rocky swam after his current teammate, not resurfacing until the tattooed Inkling did.

“What are you doing?”

“Um… Battling, obviously,” Ziggy chuckled.

“THAT’S NOT WHAT I MEANT! What do you think you’re doing? I had that under control!”

“Didn’t look like it to me.”

“I don’t need you to save me. EVER.”

“Yeah, we’ve talked about this before. But don’t worry, I’m not going after that fragile ego of yours. I’m just playing the game.”

“WHAT game?”

“The one you’ve forgotten about,” Ziggy said, staring down at Rocky’s dry-as-a-bone roller, “which is why you’re not doing anything.”

Rocky stopped and looked down at the paved street of Urchin Underpass. While they were talking, Ziggy had been hard at work inking as much as he could with his Splattershot, while he himself had completely forgotten in his rage. Instead of acknowledging it, Rocky, shaking furiously, lunged at Ziggy. The calmer of the two, Ziggy simply ducked out of the way. Rocky let out a furious growl and dove into the ink in his mollusc form, soaking up enough to fill his battle tank. When the tattooed boy started moving again, he rose to his feet and followed him, this time spreading ink with his roller along the way.

“Why are you even on my team?” Rocky asked when Ziggy finally popped out of the cheese-yellow ink. “You said you were going to pick queso!” Ziggy nodded with a bemused expression, gesturing to his yellow shirt.

“Yeah.”

“SCREW OFF!”

“I… don’t know what you want in this scenario, Rocky,” the other Inkling laughed, carrying on with his task of firing ink everywhere.

“You only said you were picking queso to make me pick salsa, because you were gonna pick salsa!” Rocky declared, once again forgetting to refill his ink. “So I stuck with queso instead! But you saw right past that, didn’t you? You knew I would figure out you did it on purpose, so you just went one step ahead!”

“I… think you’re overthinking this, dear.”

“YOU’RE A CONNIVING JERK.”

“I said I was picking queso, because I was picking queso. Simple as that. Not everything is about you.” He winked once again, and Rocky, completely losing his temper, grabbed Ziggy, flung him to the right, and slammed him into the chain-link fence. Immediately, a loud whistle rang out across the battlefield, and all of the battlers stopped what they were doing and stood in place.

“What do I have to do for you to disappear?” Rocky asked, finally with a calm voice, keeping Ziggy pinned against the fence. The other Inkling stared into Rocky’s eyes, his own beginning to glisten with tears.

“Is that what you want me to do, Rocky? You want me to disappear?”

“Penalty,” announced an official who approached them. “Physical assault, automatic forfeit.” The device he was holding printed out a shiny sticker, which he placed on Rocky’s Splatfest Tee.

“Oh come ON!” Rocky yelled, turning to the official. “That was barely anything! We could’ve won!”

“Automatic forfeit,” the official repeated, not reacting to Rocky’s attitude in any way. “Thirty minutes cool-down. Have a great evening.” Rocky growled once more, and turned to yell at Ziggy again, only to find that he had already swam away.

\/\/\/\/\/

“I’ve never done anything like this,” Pyxis shouted over the speakers, jumping up and down with Ankyr and the rest of the crowd. “It feels so different… so great! I think I’m gonna pass out, but I’ve never felt better in my life! Isn’t that weird?”

“That’s the usual for a concert experience,” Ankyr shouted back with a grin. “You’ll get used to it… sort of. I’m glad you like one of my favorite bands!”

“Show me more of them,” they said, grabbing hold of one of the Inkling’s arms. Ankyr’s face turned as red as his shirt, and he nodded.

“Another one’s gonna be playing on the Zekko stage over there, in a few minutes.” He pointed to the stage East of theirs, down a long alley, which was currently vacant.

“Yes!” Pyxis jumped even higher and faster, almost falling on someone. They shifted their weight and crashed into Ankyr instead, and the two stood still for a moment, both blushing this time.

“That was clumsy.”

“That was cool,” Ankyr said with a wide grin.

“Whatever way you wanna look at it.”

“Thank you guys so much,” the vocalist shouted once the song was over. “Thank you all, I really mean it, thanks for coming to see us. I know there are much better bands playing on the SquidForce stages-” At this, a few people in the crowd let out a cheer, and a few yelled “Boo!”

“But you chose to come hang out with us instead, and that means the world to me and the guys. So this next song, we’d like to dedicate to you. All…” here she paused and made a gesture with her hand as if she were counting the crowd, “…fifty-six of you.” Ankyr looked around for a moment, wondering if she was joking, or had actually counted all of them. He met the gazes of several others who were just as curious, and they all blushed together and lowered their heads as the music started up again.

“That was silly.”

“That was cute,” Pyxis said.

“Whatever way you wanna look at it,” he shrugged as the music started.

_“One more time for the squids in the back,_  
gonna come around the corner with a sneak attack.  
There’s no-wrong-way in a city this big and  
there’s no-one-I’d rather be doin’ this with than  
you~

_You can’t hang with my squad if you don’t like to dance._  
Peel yourself off the wall and take a chance, now come on!  
Fill up your hearts while you’ve still got time,  
rack up those points, don’t get left behind.   
There’s still a lot of treasure here left to find.   
Now I got a one-up, AM I LOSING MY MIND?

_Got a long battle ahead, now here we go._  
Take the long way around, break down so slow.  
And there’s no-wrong-way in a game this big and  
there’s no-one-I’d rather be in this mess with than  
you~  
you~  
you~

Come on, sing it with me!”

\/\/\/\/\/


	4. Scream and Run

**4\. Scream and Run**

“FINALLY,” Rocky yelled when Ankyr and Pyxis entered the lobby and joined up with the group. Rory, upon seeing Pyxis, opened her eyes wide and screamed at the top of her lungs, jumping onto Rocky and clinging to him. Needless to say, people stared.

“GET OFF OF ME.”

“Rocky, help me! It’s an Octarian!”

“We saw an Octoling like five minutes ago,” Rocky said through gritted teeth as he tried to shove her off.

“I saw a few in the crowds,” Pyxis nodded, ignoring Rory’s behavior. “I wanted to go talk to them, but… I didn’t think I should.”

“Why not?” Caurel asked, the look on her face changing to the one she usually wore when she saw another “wounded puppy” she planned to adopt and heal.

“I don’t know, I just… ‘Hi, I see you’re an Octoling, I’m also an Octoling, what’s up?’ Doesn’t that sound weird?”

“Well, when you say it like that,” Caasi said, popping into the circle and wrapping all six of her arm-appendages around Penny from behind her.

“Ooh,” Penny cooed, her enthusiasm just enough over-the-top to make it clear she was joking around, “babe, you haven’t held me like this in a long time.”

“It’s been like three days, shut up,” Caasi sighed, touching her girlfriend’s face delicately with one of her short feelers.

“So…” Pyxis cleared their throat, their face burning up. A few of the Killjoys giggled at them, and Penny mouthed a “Sorry” in their direction. “You guys traded in your Jellyfish for a Sea Anemone friend?” They gestured to Rory, who Caurel was yanking off of her brother - or at least, attempting.

“This is Rory,” Rocky said. “The one we were talking about before. She’s not a friend, she’s a pain in the neck.”

“She doesn’t understand personal boundaries,” Caurel said. She finally gave up on being “soft” with the lime-green-haired Anemone and grabbed her by the ear, which made her finally let go of Rocky, squeaking out several “Ow"s, as per usual.

"I can see that,” Pyxis nodded. “You must really like Jet-Star.”

“They call me by my battle name,” Rocky said with a wide grin, gliding over swiftly to hug the Octoling - which of course, Rory wasn’t happy about. “Pyxis, you’re cool with me.”

“What?” half of the crew yelled.

“Didn’t see that coming,” Ecto chuckled. “I’ve never seen you make a judgment on someone that fast.”

“What?” Rocky shrugged. “They have respect for what people like to be called. I can respect that. Besides, that’s not my final judgment.”

“That’s good,” Pyxis smiled. “I honestly thought you were reckless and impulsive, but it’s good to know you actually put a lot of thought into your decisions.”

“No, trust me, he’s pretty reckless,” Caurel said, throwing an arm over her brother’s shoulder.

“Pretty Reckless and Pretty Harmless, huh?” Pyxis asked with a grin at Ankyr. “Is there a Pretty Helpless?”

“What…?”

“They call me Pretty Harmless,” Ankyr smiled. “It’s an inside joke.”

“Well, you are pretty harmless, Sunshine,” Moises nodded as he returned to the circle, holding two to-go boxes.

“Oh, so you went to get food?” Ecto asked with a hungry look.

“Not for you,” Moises said, popping open each box and presenting them to Pyxis.

“Ohhh,” the group nodded in unison. Each of the boxes held tortilla chips, but one was accompanied by salsa, and the other by melted cheese.

“You bought this just for me?” Pyxis asked hesitantly, blushing.

“I can’t just sit idly by while someone goes without the experiences of salsa and queso.”

“Drama queen,” Ecto coughed under her breath, reaching sneakily into the queso box and receiving a smack on the hand from one of Moises’ many tentacles.

“Leave Moises alone,” Caurel said. “He’s just really passionate about what he loves.”

“And I looooove food,” Moises said, bringing the boxes a bit closer to Pyxis. “Other than clothes, it’s the greatest love of my life. Anyway… Any time you want, Pyxis.”

The Octoling glanced between the two options before finally grabbing a chip and dipping it into the salsa.

“No, not like that,” Rory said. “You have to scoop up a huge amount, like you’re using a shovel.”

“It doesn’t last as long that way,” Rocky said. “It’s better to just do a regular dip.”

“Whatever you say, dear,” Rory said, clinging to Rocky’s arm.

“No, Rory’s right on this one,” Caasi said as Rocky clawed the Anemone off of himself. “You gotta really get down in there and scoop up a mouthful.”

“You don’t even have a normal mouth,” Rocky said, “so who asked you?”

“You don’t have a normal brain,” the Crayfish retorted, “so we’re even.”

“Okay, enough,” Moises said. “Let them do it however they want.”

With everyone silently watching, Pyxis scooped up a fair amount of salsa with the chip and took a bite.

CRUNCH!

Stars in their eyes again, they nodded to their new friends while devouring the rest of the chip.

“That… That… was AWESOME! Can I have more?”

“Water first,” Moises said. “Anybody got-? Thanks, Ankyr.” He waited until Pyxis drank from Ankyr’s water bottle, before pushing the queso box closer. “Now, queso.”

Pyxis dipped another chip into the cheese and… CRUNCH!

“AWESOME!” They finished this chip just as quickly. “Thanks, Moises. This food is so good!”

“But which is better?” Rocky asked.

Pyxis glanced around at the group. They were all waiting patiently for their answer. What would they tell them? They enjoyed both of the options, so much so that they couldn’t wait to have more. But… One better than the other? They couldn’t imagine having to choose…

“What do you think, Pyxis?” Moises asked. “Impossible to choose, right?”

“I think so,” they said with a nod. “Would you mind if I had more… just to make sure?”

“Hon, you can have as much as you want,” Moises said. This made Pyxis’ eyes light up, and they threw their arms around the Jellyfish, almost causing him to drop the food.

“Thank you so much! I have no words…”

“Dude, it’s food, I can buy more whenever I want. In fact, I probably will in like five minutes.”

“That’s not what I meant…”

“I know.” He smiled softly with his eyes when they let go of him. They smiled back before turning and hugging Ankyr.

“Thanks for sharing this night with me.”

“Anytime,” he said, returning the hug. “And it’s nowhere near over yet.”

“Exactly,” Ecto said. “So, are you gonna pick a team or not?” Pyxis turned to give her a confused look.

“What do you mean?”

“Splatfest, what else?” She shrugged and grabbed a chip to dip in queso, finally receiving no resistance from her Jellyfish friend.

“That’s what this was all about?”

“For me, it was all about the food,” Moises said, munching on a salsa-covered chip.

“Yeah, Ghoul’s pretty relentless,” Penny said.

“Okay, Pretty Relentless,” Pyxis said, shoving their hands in their pockets. “Are you trying to say that I can play with you guys?”

“Of course,” Ecto scoffed. “Ankyr didn’t invite you?”

“I figured I’d let them decide on their own,” Ankyr shrugged.

“Well, you produce ink, right?” the young inventor continued.

“Yeah, but… I’ve never…”

“That’s what we’re here for,” Rocky said. “Consider us your introduction to Turf War. Think you’re ready?”

“I think so, but… I don’t have a weapon with me…”

“You can have one of my sets,” Ecto cut in.

“I don’t think I have enough money for the train…”

“Battlers ride to stages free,” Caasi said.

“And I’m not signed up… Are you sure I can even join this late?”

“You can join as late as right before the end,” Rocky said. “Which is tomorrow night at midnight. You’ve got plenty of time.”

“But if you are gonna battle with us,” Penny said with a smile, “we’d rather you do it now. Especially if you’re picking the right side.”

“Okay,” Pyxis shrugged. “I’m out of excuses. Time for a new life experience.”

With most of the group simultaneously shouting “YAAAAY!”, Pyxis was escorted across the plaza, to the voting booth.

“Okay, it’s the moment of truth,” Caurel said. “What’ll it be, hon? Salsa or queso?”

“Um…”

“Don’t think about it too much,” Caasi said. “You know salsa is the way to go.”

“No, if they’re smart, they’ll pick Team Queso,” Penny said, “and all its cheesy goodness.”

“Don’t succumb to peer pressure, Pyxis,” Moises said. “Only you can make the important decisions in your life.”

“That was beautiful, dude,” Pyxis said.

“Drama queeeen,” Ecto half-whispered.

“Pyxis, pick salsa,” Rocky said, causing Ecto and Penny to gasp.

“What are you doing?” Ecto asked, punching him in the arm.

“I want Ziggy to lose,” he shrugged, to which his teammates groaned. He ignored them and rubbed his arm gently where he had been punched.

“Just ignore him,” Caurel told her twin. “Play like you usually do.”

“Reckless and idiotic?” Caasi offered.

“I don’t want Ziggy to win,” Rocky said, louder this time.

“This Ziggy character must’ve hurt you,” Pyxis said, turning to Rocky. “Want to talk about it?”

“He exists,” Rocky said. “That’s what he did.”

“Ooookay,” Pyxis said, turning back to the voting box.

“It’s complicated,” Ankyr said. “Anyway, just make the choice that you want to.”

“You picked salsa, right?” Pyxis asked, glancing at his red Splatfest Tee.

“Yep!”

“Okay then, I pick salsa,” Pyxis said, scribbling on a submission form and dropping it into the box.

“WHAT?” yelled half of the crew, while the other half cheered. Abbey simply shrugged and applauded the Octoling’s choice while a red T-shirt and glowing, light green wristband popped out of the box.

“Cool,” Pyxis said, snapping on the bracelet and throwing the shirt over their shoulder. “Hey Abbey, why aren’t you playing?”

“I’m not much of a battler,” the Inkling shrugged.

“Enough of that,” Rocky said. “One newbie at a time. To the firing range!”

“To the firing range!” echoed most of the Killjoys, as they guided their new friend to Booyah Base.

\/\/\/\/\/

This is my old Splatterscope,“ Ecto said, presenting a weapon to Pyxis, who received it with a short bow. "Sorry about the sticky notes, here, I’ll take that…” She pulled several slips of paper off of the Charger, then cleared her throat.

“Anyway, yeah, sorry about that. I’ve been designing a… Never mind, it’s not important. So, when using weapons in Turf War, they always come in sets of three. The sub for this is-”

“Splat Bombs,” Pyxis smiled when Ecto handed them a pack of small, compact wire frames.

“And the special is Bomb Rush, which allows you to throw… approximately ten of these babies without any ink requirement, if you’re fast enough.”

“I’ve seen the canned version,” the Octoling nodded as Ecto wrapped their digital device back onto their wrist. “Oh, thank you.”

“No problem. Rocky, check this tank for me please?” The short-tentacled Inkling mumbled a “Fine” before closely examining an ink tank Ecto handed to him. “Thank you. Pyxis, I’ve taken the liberty of clearing every possible data cache on your watch while downloading the SplatNet app. For Fujin’s sake, get an upgrade, woman! Er… Person. Sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Pyxis smiled. “People slip. Anyway, 'Woman’ doesn’t really make me uncomfortable like people assuming what I want to be called, or saying certain things based on those assumptions… Tiny things, really dumb and insignificant, really. But they bug me. Isn’t that weird?”

“You know what’s weird?” Rocky spoke up in his usual irritated tone, still focusing his attention on the tank. “When I was born, people dressed me in blue and said 'What a good boy’ and had all these plans for me in their minds. And when you were born, people dressed you in pink and said "What a good girl” and had all these plans for you in their minds. And like ninety percent of the people we’ve met or ever will meet, are going to assume crap about us because they see those blue and pink clothes even when they’re not there, and some other fraction out of that ninety percent will insist on pinning all those archetypes and ideas and preconceived notions on us no matter what we do or say. And if one of us should happen to ask for just one or two things like respecting what we like to be called, or accepting that we love, who we love, and in what way we love, some other percentage out of all of those will pitch a fit and make a big scene about how we’re not living up to their ideal reality. That, to me, is what’s weird.“

The entire group remained silent, staring at the male Inkling, who continued his work inspecting the ink tank. It was Pyxis who finally spoke up.

"Thank you, Rocky.”

“Hey dude, no problem, just thinking out loud,” Rocky said, passing the tank back to Ecto.

“Thank you, Rocky,” Ankyr said.

“Yeah, bro,” Caurel nodded. “Thanks.”

“Thank you, Rocky,” Penny said, before planting a kiss on the young man’s cheek. This was followed immediately by him being hugged tightly with all six of Caasi’s arms.

“Thanks, roller-boy.”

“Okay, okay,” Rocky said, waving them both off. “We have enough sap to start a pine forest.”

“You need saplings,” Caurel began before shaking her head, giving up. “Never mind.”

“Now, let me know if I’m assuming too much,” Ecto said, clearing her throat, “but you’ve used an ink tank like this, yes?”

“Yeah, I’ve got one at home,” Pyxis nodded.

“Okay, so I don’t have to explain any of that. Now, the special gauge here,” she pointed to the top of the tank “measures the turf you’ve inked and builds up a stored amount of energy accordingly. Once it’s full, you’ll feel the energy surge through you - it’s pretty intense, you can’t miss it. You can then release the energy at-will in the form of your special. Any questions?”

“Sounds about right,” Pyxis shook their head.

“Alright then, let’s get to it! Um… Penny with me, Ankyr with Pyxis.”

“What about me?” Rocky asked.

“You’re not good for beginners. You’re not so great at… gentle.”

“…You’re right.”

“I’ll give you guys the high ground, and we’ll take the lower level,” Ecto said. “Two minutes. Caurel, judge, please.”

“You bet,” Caurel smiled, opening up the ink calculator app on her wrist device while she and the rest of the group that weren’t participating climbed up onto the top of the wall near Ammo Knights. Moises opened his timer, and Caasi selected a song to be played. Ecto and Penny took their starting positions just below them. Meanwhile, Ankyr and Pyxis walked up the stairs to the farthest end.

“So basically, whatever color has the most turf inked at the end, is the winner,” Ankyr explained. “The only rule in this practice round, other than basic decency, is no splatting. The closest spawn pool is in the dojo lobby, and they charge.”

“Oh, I bet that’s a great business to be in.”

“Yeah, if I don’t find anything I’m good at by the time I graduate, I’m probably just gonna work there for some steady money.”

“You’re more than that,” Pyxis shook their head. “I know there’s something you’re good at, that you’ll love doing.”

“Oh yeah? Do you… know what that is?”

“I might have an idea,” they grinned. “But if I did, I’d keep it to myself, so you can discover it for yourself.”

“You guys ready?” Caurel asked from her position atop the wall. Everyone gave her a positive gesture. “Okay, and three… two… one…” She, Moises, and Caasi pressed their respective buttons on their devices, and a loud bang filled the air.

Ankyr set to work with the Krak-On Splat Roller he had chosen to use, inking as much of the upper level as he could.

“Hey, save some for me,” Pyxis laughed, firing a shot that inked a straight line all the way to the gateway. They swam along the line while Ankyr finished off the upper floor turf, but when they resurfaced, Penny was there with her Slosher. She flung a small amount of yellow ink, which splashed onto Pyxis without hurting them.

“You’re dead, friendo,” Penny said with a grin.

“Cool,” Pyxis said with a laugh in their throat as they returned to the starting point.

“That’s… not the reaction I was expecting, but okay! Surrender, Ankyr!”

“Not a chance,” Ankyr said, swimmingto the side to dodge her Slosher spray and resurfacing to fling ink from his roller.

“Just getting warmed up,” she said in a fake threatening tone, turning around and hurrying back to the lower level. Ecto soon paid Ankyr back with the spray coming off a well-aimed Kelp Splat Charger shot.

“This is fun,” Pyxis said, high-fiving Ankyr as they passed each other. Instead of heading straight this time, they swam toward the wall to the right of the gateway and hid behind it, peeking out to take a look periodically. Once Ankyr came back, he took up position behind the left wall.

“Pretty decisive bottleneck,” Pyxis noted.

“Yep,” Ankyr nodded, noticing Penny waiting for them just below the stairs.

“So this is how we’re gonna stay?”

“Well, it’d be simpler that way, but… The lower level has more turf.”

“Ah,” they nodded.

“So, here’s what I’m thinking… You can follow a shot pretty well, right?”

“Yeah… Why?”

“Good. Then try to ink as much of the bottom as you can once I’m 'splatted’. But before that, I need you to take out Ecto, after I do THIS!”

He stepped forward, flinging his roller and spraying Penny, just before Ecto sprayed him with her charger. Penny and Ankyr both jogged to their respective starting points, but before they had taken their first steps, Pyxis had discovered Ecto’s hiding spot along the far wall, and sent a shot of their own in her direction. The red ink came close to a direct hit, but in the end the only damage done was the pain from impact.

“Nice moves, newbie,” Ecto said, winking and giving Pyxis a thumbs-up. The Octoling blushed a bit before firing as many charge shots as they could to the lover level of the firing range. By the time Penny returned from the starting point, she had her work cut out for her. Ankyr soon rejoined the fray, rolling down the stairs, but Penny sloshed yellow ink at the two of them. While it splashed Ankyr, Pyxis swam out of the way, resurfacing on the far end of the low level to shoot almost straight up before swimming up the wall.

Penny inked a path of yellow amid the red before doing the same, surfacing atop the same grate for a sneak attack, but didn’t count on Pyxis noticing her approach. The Octoling spun around on a dime and released the shot they had been charging, splatting Penny with a direct hit.

“Oh!” Pyxis dropped the Splatterscope and looked down at the group, their breath speeding up as Penny floated away in ghost form. “I… I… I didn’t… I’m sorry.” They fell back against the wall, sliding down into a sitting position.

“It’s okay, hon,” Caurel said as she closed her app, and Caasi paused her music. Ankyr swam up the wall to embrace and comfort his friend. Once Pyxis’ panic calmed, the two jumped down to the lower level to join the group, most of whom hugged the Octoling.

“You okay, hon?” Caurel asked.

“I’ll be okay.”

“Do you have any Cash?” Rocky asked, earning an elbow in the stomach from his sister. “I’m only asking because of the spawn pool,” he growled.

“All I have on me is what I won at the festival games,” Pyxis said, pulling a net-like bag out of their pocket. It held twelve small golden coins.

“Twelve hundred Cash?” Rocky asked, eyes wide.

“Twelve hundred?!” Pyxis repeated, incredulous. “I thought it was just twelve! What kind of economy do you guys have?”

“Pyxis, you won all that from just festival games?” Ecto asked as the back door of Ammo Knights opened.

“I mean, yeah, I have a pretty good aim,” they said, their attention trailing to the open door.

“So I’ve noticed,” Penny said with a smile, walking through the doorway.

“Penny!” Pyxis ran to the Inkling and threw their arms around her. “I’m so sorry! It was an accident!”

“I know, dear,” she said, patting them on the back and mouthing “She’s so adorable!” to the rest of the group. Ankyr, Caurel, and Rocky mouthed back “They,” and she nodded.

“I have money to cover the respawn cost!” Pyxis brought the bag up to Penny’s face after letting her go.

“What is that, like a thousand?” Penny asked. “Pyxis, it only costs a hundred. Anyway, don’t sweat it. I’m not gonna ask you to cover that. Save that Cash for some sweet gear.”

“I’m really sorry. I really am. I’m not just saying that.”

“I believe you, hon,” Penny grinned, tousling the Octoling’s tentacles. “I’m telling you, it’s okay.”

“I don’t know how it happened, I guess my instincts kicked in without my permission.”

“Well, keep those instincts going,” Penny chuckled. “Let’s get you into a real battle as soon as we can.” And with this, she guided Pyxis back into the shop and out into the Plaza, followed by the rest of the group.

“But, shouldn’t you want me to not battle, since I’m on the other team?”

“Nonsense,” Ecto said, coming up beside the two. “Friends want each other to enjoy Turf War as much as they can, regardless of teams or squads.”

“Friends?”

“Yeah, I’d call you a friend,” Rocky said.

“I think we all would,” Penny agreed.

“But you don’t even know me yet,” they laughed.

“Well, there’s time for that,” Caasi said. “And in the meantime, you’re a friend of Sunshine, so you have to be alright.”

“Looks like Pyxis is getting on great with everyone,” Caurel said, hanging to the rear of the group to throw an arm around Ankyr.

“Yeah, I knew you guys would get along,” Ankyr said with a smile before adding, more quietly, “I guess they’re not just mine anymore.”

“Does that upset you?” Caurel asked.

“No, I mean. Yeah, maybe a little. But it wouldn’t be right to keep them to myself. A friend like that… They deserve to be shared with the world.”

“I’m sure they’d say the same about you, Sunshine. I know I would.”

Ankyr smiled.

\/\/\/\/\/

Once Pyxis was confident that they knew all the rules and fundamentals, they, Ankyr, Caurel, Rocky, Ecto, and Penny joined the next available battle. The battlers and their friends then rode a train to the downtown area before walking a small distance to the place called Moonage Daydream.

“This is basically an all-ages nightclub,” Ankyr said as they entered a world of blue neon lights and loud, upbeat music. “Well, as close to all-ages as you can get.”

“They’re not fond of people bringing their little squids,” Ecto explained. “But if you’re old enough to battle, you’re cool, 'cause there are no… age-restricted products or activities.”

“Killjoys, hello,” another Inkling greeted as he approached the gang. He had all of his tentacles shaved off as much as possible, though the remaining smooth surface area remained yellow. “What’s the word?”

“Hey Gilly!” Caurel said, running up to hug the newcomer. “Pyxis, this is Gilly, one of our classmates and fellow battlers. Gilly, this is our new friend Pyxis.”

“Hell~o, Octolady,” Gilly said, making a “finger-gun” gesture in Pyxis’ general vicinity, though he couldn’t quite make eye contact. “You can swim my w-okay can’t do it.” He turned around and covered his face with his hands.

“Um?” Pyxis raised an eyebrow.

“He does this every time he sees someone he thinks is cute,” Ankyr said, unable to contain the huge smile Gilly had put on his face.

“He’s getting braver as the years go by,” Caurel said as she patted the embarrassed young man on the back. “He can almost get out a full sentence. But he’s still really shy. I’m telling you, Gilly, just be yourself and people will love you.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Gilly sighed, still facing away from the group. Pyxis, a sly smile on their face, walked over to stand beside him.

“Hi.” Gilly jumped about two feet into the air, flailed his arms, and zipped away as fast as he could, to the laughter of Rocky and Caasi. “Yep, he’ll get there someday,” Pyxis turned and nodded to Caurel. “Just not today.”

“There’s the yellow spawn point,” Penny said. “They’ll be pulling up the barriers soon. You guys ready?”

“I’m not ready,” Ecto said.

“You’ll be great,” Caurel said, giving her a pat on the back.

“Hey, where’d Rory go?” Pyxis asked, realizing they were one person short.

“She can’t come in here,” Caurel said. “The flashing lights gave her a seizure one time… It was really bad.”

“Why don’t they turn them off for the battles?”

“We’ve tried asking that,” Rocky said. “We keep being told to 'take it to the next level of command’ or whatever. But this isn’t a corporate deal. Everybody knows the person who inherited the place just doesn’t care about what anybody thinks.”

“Yeah, I miss when Hermione ran the place,” Moises said. “She was a sweetheart.”

“Just minutes left to get ready,” Ecto said. “Let’s do it to it.”

Ankyr, Pyxis, and Caurel headed to the other end of the club while Penny, Rocky, and Ecto ran up the nearest flight of stairs and dove into the yellow spawn pool on the other side of the loft. Several teams of Jellyfish set up thick glass walls to separate designated spectator points, such as the bar areas, from the battlefield. Everyone but the eight combatants had already flocked to these points, vacating the booths and table seats. Once all eight players had reached their designated spawn pools, the staircases leading to each “home base” area were retracted into the bottom of the lofts. An announcer instructed the battlers to prepare themselves, and both teams rose from the ink to take their humanoid forms.

Mere seconds later, a charged shot sounded off in the distance, and both teams got to work as quickly as they could. Ankyr pushed his roller in a zig-zag path between the tables as if he had done it a hundred times before - which in fact, he had - before reaching the edge of the base area. This was where the switch to lower the stairs was located, but he chose a nearby ledge instead. He dove into the ink and swam, leaping far enough to reach the stage on their side of the club. Meanwhile, Pyxis and Caurel inked the switch to lower the stairs and proceeded that way, the former launching several long streaks of ink, and the latter swiftly shifting between taking advantage of these strips and running her brush along the ground. Their fourth member, a boy with his tentacles cut to chin-length, stayed behind to ink the base.

On the other end, Rocky was rolling on a deadset path to the center. Penny and Gilly fired off their shooters to cover as much turf as possible from the top level, while Ecto fired a shot from her charger which reached all the way to a corner where the left stage met the wall that separated it from the center area. She swam through the thick streak of ink before popping up and hiding behind the wall, charging a shot in preparation.

While Ankyr inked the stage on their side of the battlefield, Caurel and Pyxis proceeded to the dance floor at the center.

“Whoa,” Pyxis exclaimed when they realized the square panels of the dance floor lit up when stepped on.

“Stay focused,” Caurel warned before diving into the red ink. Pyxis nodded, glancing around the dance floor. They swam back against the wall when they saw a Seeker zoom in from around the corner. The explosion didn’t splat Caurel, as she was too far away, but some of the yellow ink did spray onto her, and she swam away. Seeing the ripples in the water, Rocky sent another Seeker rolling for cover and rolled after his sister, splatting her when she rose up to strike him with her brush. Pyxis took the opportunity to splat him right back with their charger, just before being splatted themself by Penny and Gilly.

'Now this is a strange sensation,’ Pyxis thought as they floated through the air, back toward the red home base. 'Hey wait a minute…’ They could see a secluded platform high up, above the stage, that seemed to be a great vantage point. Sure enough, when they respawned, they could see the small platform from across the way.

'I remember Ecto talking about a “sniping point that isn’t worth it”. I wonder…’ They ran out to the rail that ran along the edge of the loft and glanced around the stage. Before another second passed, they heard the spawn pool roaring into action, and the fourth member of their current team, the boy she hadn’t met, soon popped out, ready for another go.

“Hey, what’s your name?” Pyxis asked, and the boy froze in his tracks to look at them, still moving in place as if prepared to run any second.

“Moby,” he said, raising an eyebrow.

“Nice to meet you, Moby,” they said with a low bow. “I have a plan. Follow me?” They swam under the rail to drop down to the stairs that led to the bar area, and Moby shrugged and did the same, following them up the “hallway” stairs and down to the end of the bar passage.

“Yep, just as I thought,” Pyxis said when they surfaced, inspecting from a distance the switch and metal door on the wall across a deep gap. The switch was exactly the same as the one that lowered the stairs of the base, a huge square button which required the pressure of a direct hit from ink - either a repetitive stream from a shooter, a fully-charged shot of a charger, or several quick strikes from a roller or slosher. The door was at an angle, so they guessed the secret passage on the other side must lead to the secluded vantage point on the opposing team’s side.

“Are we gonna attack from above?” Moby asked. “Probably our only option at this point.”

“Nope,” Pyxis said, firing a shot at the metal door, leaving it covered in a large spot of ink which dripped to the bottom. “Moby, could you please keep that switch open?”

“Um, sure, but why do you wanna go up there? Nobody goes up there.”

“That’s exactly why,” Pyxis smiled before swimming and jumping across the gap into the red ink they had left on the door. Moby shrugged and did as he was asked, firing a steady stream of red ink from his Aerospray MG to activate the switch, which lifted up the metal door. As soon as there was enough of an opening, Pyxis dropped to the doorway below, slipped through the opening, resurfaced and gave their teammate a thumbs-up.

“Whoa,” Moby said as he stopped firing at the button, and the door fell back into place almost immediately. “I guess it is easier that way.”

“Moby, meet up with Ankyr and Caurel,” Pyxis shouted to be heard from behind the door. “Try to push the other team back onto their side as much as possible!”

“Um… I’ll try,” Moby said. “Good luck, you weird genius.”

“You too,” they laughed before turning to face the slanting tunnel. It was too small to walk or even crawl through - they would have to swim. There was just enough room to fire into the tunnel, so they did just that. The Splatterscope’s charged shot covered almost the entire length of the tunnel, which they swam through immediately.

While Pyxis had been carrying out their plan, Team Queso had pretty much covered Team Salsa’s side of the battlefield, with the exception of the home base area. Moby joined the fray right when Caurel and Ankyr were splatted by Penny and Rocky, and managed to splat Rocky right before being done in himself by a well-aimed Seeker from Gilly.

Right about the moment Rocky was about to respawn, Pyxis had come out the other side of the tunnel and inked the scant amount of turf on the high-up platform, and aimed their Splatterscope at the yellow home base, charging a shot. When Rocky dropped down under the rail, he dove right into the charger’s long blast of ink, which was just close enough to splat him, and right back into the spawn pool he went.

“Yeah, this is kind of game-breaking,” Pyxis chuckled, firing a few shots to cover the first floor’s yellow with red, reaching just to the edges of the dining booths below the loft.

“WHAT THE BLUE ABYSS WAS THAT?” Rocky yelled when he respawned, and Pyxis couldn’t help but laugh. The male Inkling ran to the very edge of the base and glanced around for a moment, fuming when he saw the Octoling aiming another shot at him. “PYXIIII-” SPLAT!

Gilly respawned before Rocky this time, so Pyxis had to guess that their teammates were slowly starting to gain ground.

“Good job, guys! Hopefully this helps.” Gilly, not as rushed as Rocky, swam along the loft and opened the stairs. He started swimming down them, and when he resurfaced, Pyxis released their charge and splatted him. They next fired at Rocky, who had respawned once more, but the Inkling dropped down to the first floor and swam out of view before they could properly aim, and they missed. They soon found another target, however, when Penny respawned. Not as reckless as her friend, Penny glanced around when she noticed long streaks of red ink on the first floor.

“You’re a natural, dear,” she shouted as loudly as she could over the music when she saw Pyxis on their perch. Gilly respawned behind her, this time taking his time to think of what to do.

“Thanks,” Pyxis shouted back, returning the girl’s smile. “Think you can outrun my aim?”

“Not gonna bet on it,” Penny laughed as she set to work covering Pyxis’ red on the first floor with her yellow, safely firing her shooter from the third-floor loft without going near the edge.

“I’m just gonna stay up here with you, okay?” Gilly asked, giving up on moving for now.

“Sure, Gill,” Penny laughed. “I’ll have us out of here soon.”

“Wha-how?” Just as he asked this, Penny’s special gauge filled, and her body started to shine with the excess energy she had stored up.

“Hey, Pyxis?”

“Yes, Penny?”

“Do you know what an Inkstrike is?”

“Oh boy,” Pyxis breathed, swimming into the tunnel just before a massive swirling vortex of yellow ink engulfed the third-floor platform. While they were distracted, Penny and Gilly jumped down to the first floor. Rocky soon respawned, yelling “NOBODY MOVE!”

“Jet-Star, it’s okay,” Penny shouted. “Hurry before they come back out!”

Rocky glanced to the platform and saw Pyxis emerging from behind the cut-out wall, and let out an unintelligible shriek as he dove to the first floor. He ran right into a battle, as Penny and Gilly had met with Ankyr, Caurel, and Moby. Right as he was about to join the chaos, a long Charger shot of yellow ink passed right in front of him. He turned to the left, where Ecto was hiding behind the barrier wall on the side of the dance floor, waving him over.

“You could’ve hit me,” Rocky griped as he ran over to join her.

“You know my aim is better than that. Listen, try to keep from getting splatted, and follow my trail.”

“Why?”

“Just trust me.” Ecto swam out from behind the wall and fired her Killer Wail, causing Team Salsa to scramble. In the next few seconds, she fired her charger and swam along its trail, surfacing just shy of the stairs to the second level, on the opposing team’s side. With just a few shots, she covered the slim passage and swam to the metal door, which was still covered in the red ink Pyxis had fired at it.

“So what are we doing?” Rocky asked as Ecto covered the red ink in yellow.

“I’m going to keep this door open,” the female Inkling said, charging another shot. “I want you to jump in there and set off one of your Seekers.”

“Um… Sure, but if we’re going after Pyxis, shouldn’t we be on our side?” Ecto sighed.

“Jet-Star, the one on our side leads to their side.”

“Really…? Are you sure?”

“Rocky. The door.”

“Yeah, yeah…” He sunk into the ink and swam back a few feet, then turned back toward the door. Once Ecto released her charge shot at the door, he dashed through the ink in squid form and leaped across the gap as fast as he could, landing safely on the other side and running past the doorway before the door dropped back into place.

“Been a while since anyone’s been here,” Pyxis thought out loud. “Wonder what’s…” They trailed off when they heard the sound of the metal door opening, followed by a loud BEEP and familiar whirring sound.

“Uh-oh.” They swam and leaped off of the platform right before a Seeker wheeled itself out of the tunnel and exploded. Fortunately for them, Gilly had left the stairs to the yellow base open, so they fired a quick shot and swam right in, inking the entire loft. They dropped back down and waited with a charged shot in front of the booth seats under the loft, making sure to keep an eye on the platform.

Soon enough, Gilly respawned and swam under the rails to drop down, only to be splatted in midair. The same happened to Penny, but Pyxis soon swam out from the cafe area when they saw Rocky on the high platform, flinging yellow ink from his roller to cover the first floor.

They jumped onto the stage and tried throwing a Splat Bomb, but it was too high to reach. They tried firing a shot almost straight up, but Rocky didn’t get closer to the edge to chance a shot at them, knowing they were too close to the wall. Unfortunately, Gilly and Penny soon respawned and tore them away from their attempts. Hearing another beep and whir, the Seeker coming from Gilly this time, they ducked into octopus form and turned, swimming away as fast as they could.

Unfortunately for them, they swam right instead of left. They had enough time upon resurfacing to splat Gilly, but Penny had been waiting for them on the stairs.

Slosh! SPLAT! And Pyxis went floating away, back to the spawn pool. It hardly mattered, however, as the whistle soon sounded out, and the judge had an easy decision - most of the turf was red.

“That was awesome!” Penny shouted as she ran toward the center. Before long, both teams were assembled, and the announcers reminded them to get off the battlefield before too long to allow preparations for the next battle.

“Come on, guys,” Caurel panted. “Let’s go across the street and rest for a while. They should have a food stand or two open.”

“There’s pizza here,” Rocky pointed out.

“Yeah, but I wanna sit somewhere quiet,” Penny said.

“Agreed,” Ecto nodded. “Gill, other guy, you can rest with us if you want.”

“Oh yeah, this is Moby,” Pyxis said, nodding toward the short-tentacled boy. “He was awesome.”

“You were the awesome one,” Moby said. “That quick thinking of yours won us the battle. Have you played at Moonage Daydream a lot?”

“I’ve never played at all,” Pyxis said with a smile as they exited the club. Rory immediately saw them and charged at Rocky, only to be smacked away by Caurel. “This was my first battle.”

“Shut up,” Gilly said, as he and Moby stared at her, dumbfounded.

“No, I’m serious.”

“Have you ever considered joining the Spiders From Mars?” asked a third voice. Pyxis turned to see a female Inkling walking up behind Gilly and throwing her arms around him. “We could use someone with your talent.”

“I’ve never heard of them,” Pyxis said, shaking their head.

“Never heard of the best squad in Inkopolis?”

“Weird, get out of here,” Rocky said, shooing the girl away with his hands. “Leave our friend alone, they’re not buying anything you can sell.”

“Not a chance,” the Inkling said, her eyes on Pyxis. “I saw her battling just now, and I think Ziggy will be pleased if I bring her around for a test run.”

“Them,” Pyxis corrected with their usual polite bow.

“What?”

“I prefer to be called by neutral pronouns, if you please.”

“Hm… No, I don’t.”

“Okay then,” Pyxis scoffed, shrugging.

“Don’t mind Weird,” Caurel said. “She’s just trying to be contrary, as always.”

“Don’t be a rude, disrespectful brat,” Rory shouted, earning her bemused glances from most of the group.

“Thank you, Rory,” the Octoling said, placing a hand on the younger girl’s shoulder. “But it’s fine. There are plenty of people who call me what they want. I’ve gotten used to it.”

“Oh, cry me a river,” Weird sighed. “Come on, new girl. Why don’t you give my squad a look? We’ve got lots of skilled, dedicated fighters just like you. Gilly’s the outlier, I promise.”

“Hey!” Gilly shouted, indignant, as his squad mate squeezed his cheeks. Pyxis stepped forward and slapped the girl’s hands away without giving it a second’s thought, and Weird stared at them as if they’d gravely injured her.

“What a bold creature you are,” she said under her breath, massaging her hands.

“I could never comfortably hang out with anyone as disrespectful as you,” Pyxis said. “Gilly, if you ever get tired of being mistreated, you can come to me. I’ll be your friend.” There was a faint glow on Gilly’s face for just a moment before he shook his head and put his arm around Weird.

“Nah, man. I love being with the Spiders.”

“My offer stands,” Pyxis said, turning just the slightest angle to the left and walking across the street, completely ignoring Weird’s existence. The Killjoys watched them, eyes wide, before doing the same.

“Yes, run along, my little chicks,” Weird cackled. “I’ll catch up with you soon enough.”

“So, those two know this Ziggy of yours?” Pyxis asked when they sat down in a vacant section of the park. Moises, Caasi, Penny, and Rory had gone for food, and the rest of the group were making themselves comfortable.

“He’s not 'mine’,” Rocky said. “But yes. The Spiders From Mars. It’s Ziggy’s group. They like to think of themselves as the best of the best. They like 'teasing’ the rest. And they’re mad at us for using a spider as our squad’s symbol, so they mess with us more than anybody else.”

“Just because of their name?”

“We got it off an old album on the old net, from before the Q-C Extinction,” Caurel shrugged. “But they insist we’re stealing their originality. But if you ask me, there are other fish they’re trying to fry.” Here she gave an accusatory glance at Rocky.

“What?” Rocky asked. “WHAT?”

“Oh, nothing, dear brother of mine.”

“Hey, good-lookin’!” Penny said as she walked up to Caurel’s bench with a tub of ice cream and a handful of spoons. “Where have you been all my life?”

“Right here, baby, waiting for you!” Caurel smiled, scooting over to let the yellow Inkling sit on her left side.

“I thought you and Caasi were together,” Pyxis said, raising an eyebrow.

“We are,” Penny said before shoving a huge spoonful of ice cream into her mouth.

“We just talk to each other like that sometimes,” Caurel explained. “We’re best friends.”

“Oh, you thought…” Penny chuckled. “Me and Cricket?” She threw her head back and laughed.

“And just what’s so hilarious about that, sweetie?” Caurel asked in a faux-threatening tone.

“N-nothing, sugar cookie, nothing at all.” Caurel let out an “Mmmm-hm” while she planted a kiss on her best friend’s head.

“You two are disgusting,” Caasi said as she sat down on the other side of Penny, who gave her a kiss, this one on the Crayfish’s exoskeleton, just below her eye.

“Why, thank you, babe.”

“You see, Pyxis, I personally find this goo-goo talk or whatever you want to call it-”

“Terms of endearment,” Caurel suggested with a laugh.

“-disgusting and pointless,” Caasi continued. “Especially 'baby’, because it has implications that, one, the speaker is attracted to infants or disturbingly young people, and two, that the speaker sees me as one of those. I don’t know which is worse, to be honest, but they’re both gross.”

“You’ll take 'babe’ though,” Penny pointed out, scooping up more ice cream.

“Only from you. You sick, sick woman.”

Ecto, who had just received a nacho bowl from Moises, had been cackling through this entire explanation.

“I appreciate you so much, Caasi. Thanks for the foodage, Moises.”

“Happy to be of service,” the Crayfish winked. “By the way,” here she turned to Pyxis, “I’m sorry about earlier.”

“Oh… Well…”

“I get riled up any time I’m reminded of my past life. It’s something I’m working on, believe me.”

“Past life?”

“Back home,” Caasi explained. “In Sabine. A life I had a few years ago. But enough about that. I think we’re gonna be great friends, Pyxis.”

“How can you tell?” Pyxis smiled.

“Because Penny is deadset on keeping you,” Caasi chuckled. “And if she’s taken a shine to you, I know I will too.”

“Can we please keep you, Pyxis?” Penny asked, making her best exaggerated pleading look, pouting eyes and shaking frown and all. “You’re just so adorable! I’ll take really good care of you! I’ll feed you and brush you and love you forever and ever!”

“Sure, I’ll be your pet,” Pyxis joked, to which Penny jumped up and ran over to squeeze them in a tight hug.

“Yaaay!”

“But I do eventually have to go home.”

“Aaaw…”

“But I’ll come back.”

“Yaaay!”

“Okay, enough sentimental mush,” Rocky said. “Pyxis, where did you learn to fight like that?”

“Wh-what do you mean?” Pyxis asked, their face temporarily turning the same shade of red as their tentacles.

“This was your first Turf War, right?” Ecto asked. “And you’ve never even been to Moonage Daydream before tonight. But you took advantage of a route most people consider not worth the effort, and even when that was taken away from you, you reacted like…”

“Like someone who was born to fight,” Moby said. Everyone stared at him, then back to Pyxis. “Is it true that they do experiments on you guys and stuff? I know that’s all hearsay from idiots and tabloids, but…”

“I think I would remember getting experimented on,” Pyxis chuckled. “Nah, I just get paid to be a 'guard’. I walk back and forth across the same place for hours on end doing nothing but practicing my aim and 'protecting against threats’. Except there are no threats, because you guys are nothing like what they say you are.” This earned a smile from the entire group.

“Aww, thanks, Pyxis,” Caurel said.

“You’re nothing like what our idiots say about you, either,” Moby said, blushing. “You are still a weird genius, though.”

“Thanks, I’ll take that.”

“Even without any official training,” Ecto said in a quiet tone, staring off into space, “that just makes it more incredible that they were able to splat our team so many times. Plus, they were able to ascertain the vent path’s location and the most optimal way to get through before the first minute had passed, on their first time at the stage - first time ever playing - and that’s got to make them at least… 40 percent more efficient than today’s average players.

"But let’s not forget their reaction time. I’ve never seen anyone respond to their environment so fast. Maybe practicing at the firing range was the wrong way to get a scope of their skills, maybe we should get them to play… Hm… At least one hundred battles, outside of Splatfest, of course, and take notes on their performance. Maybe twenty-five charger, twenty-five shooter, twenty-five roller, twenty-five slosher. Of course, we could cut in a small percentage for some of my custom weapons… I’d love to see what they can do with the Disco Hades. Hopefully we can get a fair variety of stages, considering they only change every four hours, but all we have to do is pace the battles well…

” If they can assess every other stage currently certified by the IBC in such a manner, if other people catch up, they could probably tumble the metagame to an extent that’s never been seen before. The committee might even make drastic changes. If they become a regular player, battles will probably never be the same again. They might even have to create an entirely different model of play if other battlers are inspired to push their limits more and more. This could go from a simple game to…“

"Ecto?” Moises called. “Come back, hon, you’re losing us.”

Ecto raised her view to see everyone staring at her.

“Ah… I got carried away?”

“Yeah, a big one this time,” Caasi said.

“As much as I, um… appreciate your interest,” Pyxis said, choosing their words carefully. “Let’s just stick with enjoying Splatfest for now.”

“Of course,” Ecto nodded. “But would you do me the favor of using a shooter-type weapon in your next battle?”

“Ecto,” Caurel said in a warning tone.

“I’d love to,” Pyxis said. “But I don’t have one.”

“Easily remedied,” Ecto said. “To the lab!”

“To the lab!” Pyxis said, raising a fist into the air, which they lowered when no one else joined in. “Aw… I thought we were doing the thing.”

“We’re gonna join the next available battle,” Caurel said. “You guys can join us afterwards.”

“I’ll come with you two,” Ankyr said, rising to his feet and joining Ecto and Pyxis.

“Okay, we’ll text you guys the location,” Caurel said.

“My Pyxis is leaving?” Penny whined, jumping up to give the Octoling a hug. “I’m going to miss yooooouu!”

“I’ll miss you too, Penny,” Pyxis smiled. “Good luck in your next battle.”

“You won’t be there, so I’ll do great,” Penny laughed, patting them on the back. Pyxis had nothing to say to this, so blushing once more, followed Ecto and Ankyr.

\/\/\/\/\/

“Welcome to my secret lair,” Ecto said as she lifted the trap door to her basement, in the back yard of her parents’ house. Her friends peered inside, but saw nothing but stairs and a few electronic lights further down. “Well, you guys have to go first,” she said. “Can’t hold this thing forever.”

They nodded and advanced down the stairs, keeping their hands to the wall. They had no need, however, when Ecto walked down the first few stairs, dropped the door, and flipped a switch. The darkness transformed into a bright world of workbenches, tools, and computers.

“You put all of this together?” Pyxis asked.

“You like?”

“I love,” they said, walking up to a bench with a disassembled Inkbrush and many smaller pieces and tools. “These are the guts of a standard charger, the whole apparatus that… 'squeezes the ink’ or however you say it. And these! Is this a disassembled weapon? A shooter, maybe? And this… Are you trying to make an Inkbrush with a long-range shot?”

“Finally, someone who understands my work,” Ecto cheered as she made her way to the back wall.

“Only in theory,” Pyxis said, moving on to the next bench. “I don’t have any practical experience with how weapons work, I just know what I’ve read. Hey, what’s this?” There was a round tray of some sort, no wider than a compact disc, but thicker than a hockey puck.

“Oh, that’s my less-rough-draft,” Ecto said as she grabbed a few weapon sets, storing them in a large camo pouch. “Flip the switch next to it.” Pyxis did just that, and the tiny device spun around on its axis very quickly - so quickly, in fact, that due to the lack of detail, it was hard to tell that it was spinning at all.

“Reminds me of a carnival ride,” Ankyr said, to which Ecto winked.

“Watch.”

A tiny drop of ink poured from what they thought was merely an overhead light, and the ink was sucked into the spinning device within the breadth of a second; they could actually see it being stretched out and pulled to one area inside the tray.

“Whoah!”

“How did that happen?”

“Centrifugal force,” Ecto laughed as she approached them, carrying over her shoulder a bag full of standard weapon sets, flipping off the switch and deactivating the device. “This one reaches about two times the force of our planet’s gravity.”

“'This’ one?” Ankyr asked.

“Come this way,” Ecto chuckled, guiding them farther into the lab.

“You just build whatever you want?” Pyxis asked, admiring all of the projects they could see - most of which were extremely messy bundles of “organized chaos” only Ecto could properly understand - especially with that handwriting!

“Whatever I’m inspired to work on,” Ecto said. “And that also fits within the budget, of course.”

“You have a budget?” Ankyr asked. “Does it work out for you? Should I try that?”

“I… recommend everyone try it, actually,” Ecto said, as they approached a workbench that was covered with a huge, thick sheet. “How else would you keep track of your money?”

“I kind of… don’t.”

“So, this,” Ecto said, clearing her throat as she grabbed one end of the sheet, “I never show to anyone. But I trust you guys. Will you tell me what you honestly think?”

“Of course,” Ankyr said.

“I’d be honored to give you feedback,” Pyxis nodded.

“Alright. Then I give you… the Disco Hades!’ She pulled the sheet off, revealing a bright red and blue shooter-type weapon, accompanied by a sub and special neither of them had seen before.

"Wow, it’s even farther along than I thought,” Ankyr said. “You’re on the painting phase?”

“It also needs more tests,” Ecto said, lifting the main weapon and presenting it to Pyxis. “Here, see how it feels.”

“Wow, it’s so light,” Pyxis said, weighing it gently with both hands, then one to the other.

“There’s no ink,” Ankyr pointed out.

“No, but still… Here, hold it.” They passed it to Ankyr, who let out a quiet “Ooooh…”

“It feels good, too,” Pyxis said to Ecto. “The material, and the design. How long did it take to come up with your final draft?”

“A long time,” Ecto said. “Years. I can’t tell you how many times I drew this weapon before I came up with the perfect design. And then I had a few hundred more drafts while actually making the thing… This set is my ultimate work.”

“So far,” Ankyr said with an assuring smile, returning the shooter to its resting place. “So, I can see one of these is the finished product of that prototype we were playing with,” Ankyr said, running a finger gently over the thick, round device resting next to what seemed to be a portable speaker. “But what’s the other?”

“This is the special weapon,” Ecto said, picking up the speaker-like item. “I call it 'Sound System’. It attacks via sound, like the Killer Wail, but the similarity ends there. When it’s thrown, it activates its 'music’ - powerful sound waves released in a steady rhythm. Each wave has enough force to splat any enemies caught in its radius, and it covers that radius in ink once it disappears. This… is an incredible project, and it’s taken more time and money than I ever could’ve imagined. Not to mention it’s hardly anything like what I first pictured when I had the initial idea. But, that’s how it goes sometimes.”

“Ecto, you’re amazing,” Ankyr whistled. “I mean, I know I’ve said it a million times before, but I never knew how true it was.”

“Alright, alright, don’t feed my ego too much,” Ecto said, blushing yellow. “That’s potentially dangerous, y'know.”

“What about the sub?” Pyxis asked, patting the female Inkling on the back.

“Ah yes, the Day Tripper,” Ecto said, carefully lifting the round object. “My pride and joy.”

“Day Tripper?” Ankyr asked with a wide grin. “That’s beautiful.”

“Shut it, you.”

“What?” Pyxis asked. “I’m lost.”

“She named it-”

“SHUSH!” Ecto used one hand to cover Ankyr’s mouth, but he pried it off, cackling.

“She named it after her favorite food!”

“You have made an enemy of me this day, sir!” Ecto yelled dramatically.

“My kingdom shall answer your challenge!”

“You will rue the day you insulted my honor, sir!”

“That’s nothing to be ashamed of, Ecto,” Pyxis said with a smile. “It’s something that makes you happy. I can’t imagine a better choice to name your creation after.”

“I know, I know,” Ecto said, setting down her custom sub weapon when a loud beeping emitted from her wrist device. “But enough of this, we need to get back to battling. It’s already almost three.” With a little help from her friends, Ecto placed the sheet back over the weapon set, before guiding them back out of the basement and turning off the lights.

“When the time comes, I’d be happy to help you test your masterpiece, Ecto,” Pyxis said as they ascended to fresh air and streetlights.

“Same here,” Ankyr said. “And we won’t tell anyone about it until then.”

“Thanks, guys,” Ecto said, closing the basement door before opening the SplatNet app on her wrist device. “Everybody ready to join another one?”

“You mean we don’t have to go back to the lobby?” Pyxis asked.

“Nah. Technically we don’t have to go there at all, as long as we’re connected to SplatNet. But we all like to go at least the first time each day to meet up and whatnot. Kind of a tradition.”

“Sounds awesome. Either way, I’m ready.”

“Ready,” Ankyr nodded.

“Three… Two… One… GO!’ The three tapped their screens, and instantly joined a battle.

"Urchin Underpass,” Ankyr said. “We’ll have to take the train. It’s so far up midtown that it might as well be uptown.”

“Are we gonna do the thing?” Pyxis asked eagerly.

“I don’t see why not,” Ecto smiled. “To the train!”

“TO THE TRAIN!” echoed Pyxis and Ankyr, and the trio laughed as they took off down the street.

\/\/\/\/\/


	5. This Is Nice

5\. This Is Nice

Pyxis took part in many more battles, alternating every now and then between types of weapons Ecto had brought along. They excelled in most of the matches, even the ones they lost, much to the delight of the tinkerer. They found that the shooter and roller types were their favorites, and they weren’t a big fan of the sloshers.

“Hey Penny?” they called in a sing-song voice.

“Yes, m'dear?” Penny answered as she plopped down in the circle of friends on the grass, fresh from her latest battle. At around four-thirty in the morning, Caurel had texted everyone to meet up for a long break at the park. Now that they had finished their most recent battles, the whole gang was assembled together once again, with the exception of Abbey and Rory. The former insisted on going to sleep early for their afternoon shift, and the latter was summoned back home by her parents.

“I’m not a fan of using sloshers. Are you upset with me?”

“Noooo,” Penny said, hugging the Octoling’s face to her chest and petting them. “I could never be upset with you, my pet.” Then, as an afterthought, “How do you feel about Squid Squad?”

“I… don’t know them?”

“I CAN FIX THAT!” Penny furiously typed away on her phone and clicked a “play” button before bringing the device closer to their ear. “This song is called ‘Lost Buoys & Girls’,” she said as ambient synth music filled the air. The smooth, eerie melody lasted for about a minute before shifting into heavy guitars and drums.

“Wow,” Pyxis said, bobbing their head with the beat. “This is great! This actually reminds me of the band I saw at the plaza last night.”

“It’s still night,” Rocky said, then let out an “Oh” when Pyxis pointed to the horizon, which was lightening with the approach of dawn.

“The band was playing about an hour ago?” Penny asked, to which Pyxis nodded. “That’s them!” the female inkling said, flailing her arms wildly.

“The people that made the Splatfest announcement?”

“Yes, Squid Squad! They’re the best band ever!”

“I mean,” Ankyr said slowly, “they’re definitely the most popular.”

“Sssshhhh.”

“I really like this,” Pyxis said, earning a “YAAAY!” and a hug from Penny.

“How are you not exhausted?” Caurel asked. “We’ve been battling for like two straight hours.”

“I’m energized by the neon lights.”

“Whatever you say, honey,” Caurel laughed, patting her best friend’s head.

“I could go for some sleepage, though,” Ecto said.

“I’m already asleep,” Moises said from the bench he was lying on. “Y'all just don’t know it yet.”

“I have a proposition,” Penny said.

“Not in front of everybody,” Caasi said with a wink.

“Not like that! I propose that, in light of our making a new friend, we should spend some of this month’s Splatfest resting and getting to know them… And sleeping.”

“Sleepover?” Caurel asked.

“Sleepover!” echoed most of the group. Pyxis shrugged and nodded.

“Ankyr’s place,” Rocky shouted as they all rose to their feet and moved to the Southwest.

“Um, I don’t think my mom-” Ankyr started, but Rocky cut him off.

“Sleepover at Ankyr’s, and everybody brings their own food!”

“Yeah, that’s better. Are you okay with this, Pyxis?”

“I’m down,” Pyxis said. “Wherever you go, I’ll stick with you.”

“Awesome! Let me just call my mom first.”

“You’re such a good son, Sunshine,” Moises said, pinching Ankyr’s right cheek.

“Sto-op.”

“You love my cheek pinches.”

“Not at 'gross’ in the morning.”

\/\/\/\/\/

“Hey kids, it’s good to see you all again!” A fully grown Inkling stood on the front porch, which was elevated on cinder blocks. “How’s the 'fest going?”

“Pretty well,” Caurel said. “I think we’re gonna win. How are you, Mom?”

“It’s a morning,” she laughed, rubbing her eyes. “What do you guys have in those bags?”

“Food,” Rocky said. “Drinkage. Stuff like that.”

“We have food, you’re always welcome to it.”

“I know,” Rocky said.

“Well, feel free to store all that in the kitchen. I threw the sleepover stuff in the living room, fix it how you guys want it.” Rocky nodded, and the gang walked into the house one at a time, each receiving a kiss on the top of their head from Ankyr’s mother.

“Thanks, Mom,” Rocky said.

“Good morning, Mom,” Moises smiled.

“How’s the book coming along, Mom?” Ecto asked.

“The newest chapter is fun,” the adult nodded. “Lots of character growth ahead.”

“I brought you more coffee,” Caasi said. “Got any good creamer, Mom?”

“Do you have to ask?” She laughed, hugging the Crayfish and accepting the coffee can with a peck on her cheek.

“You look lovely this morning, Mom,” Caurel said.

“Drop-dead gorgeous,” Penny agreed as she followed her best friend up the stairs.

“Thanks, girls,” she smiled, gesturing to her bathrobe and messy hair. “It’s the latest look from New Sardine!”

“Everybody’s parents are everybody else’s parents,” Ankyr was explaining to Pyxis at the back of the group - the only two who hadn’t ascended the stairs yet. “In our group, I mean.”

“So, this must be the new friend,” his mother said, walking down a few steps to give Pyxis a smile.

“Mom, this is Pyxis,” her son said. “Pyxis… My mom.”

“Are you the one behind Ankyr’s smile these days?”

“Um…” Pyxis shrugged and shook their head, while Ankyr’s face turned red.

“Sorry, I promise I won’t throw too many awkward questions out there. I’m happy to meet you, Pyxis! Hugs or handshakes?”

“Sorry?”

“If you’re comfortable receiving a hug from a stranger, I’ll hug you, but if not, I’ll shake your hand or something.”

“Oh… A handshake will do for now,” Pyxis said, extending their hand. “It’s an honor to meet you, ma'am.”

“Likewise,” Ankyr’s mom said, shaking their hand. “You can call me Umi, or Ms. Umi if you prefer. Or, if you’re as into theatrics as me, you could always go with…” here she extended her arms outwards and raised them to the sky. “MADAME UMI!” This made Pyxis laugh.

“I’ll stick with Ms. Umi for now, but I do appreciate your humor, only because it’s too true to my actual character.”

“I think I’m going to like you,” Umi smiled. “Hey, where’s Rory?”

“Family plans,” Ankyr said.

“Oh, of course. Tell her I said hi.”

“I will,” he nodded. “We have two other new friends, but they went home early, too.”

“I guess they’re just gonna have to miss out this time. Come on, guys, let’s join the party.”

“Sounds good.”

When the three entered the house, they found everyone on the floor between the furniture. Everyone had already passed out, except for Rocky and Ecto, speaking quietly.

“That was a fast party,” Ankyr said.

“I think I’ll join them,” Pyxis said. “I’ve been awake for twenty-four hours.”

“Do whatever you want,” Umi said. “My only rules are no drugs, no getting naked, and no touching my records without my permission.”

“Sounds easy enough,” Pyxis nodded. “Thank you for letting us stay, Ms. Umi.” She bowed once more before sitting in the ocean of mattresses and cushions.

“You are very welcome.”

“Just pick whatever blankets or sleeping bags or whatever you want,” Ankyr said, before turning his attention to his mother and kissing her on the cheek. “You are beautiful, Madre. As always.”

“Sweet-talker,” she laughed, Squeezing him with a hug before walking away to deposit the coffee Caasi had given her into the kitchen.

“Need help with anything?”

“Not right now, dear.”

“We added a fourth rule,” Rocky said with the same low volume he had been using, as Pyxis grabbed a dark green blanket and stretched it over themself. “'Always pick up after yourself’. Mom doesn’t care, she’s pretty laid-back. But she hasn’t had the best life, and we try to make things as easy for her as we can. Got it?”

“You can count me in,” Pyxis nodded.

“Enough talk,” Penny mumbled. “Sleepytime nowww.”

“Yes, dear,” Caasi and Caurel both yawned.

“I love you, tortilla chips,” Moises mumbled in his sleep.

“Thanks for having me over,” Pyxis said to Ankyr as he lay down on the couch.

“Hey, no problem. Thank you for trusting us.”

“You made it pretty easy,” the Octoling yawned. “You’re all pretty great.”

\/\/\/\/\/

“…Won’t be voting for that one, to be honest.”

“Well who would? Honestly.”

“Our parents’ generation?”

“Pfft!”

“Girl, stop.”

The sound of laughter from another room reached Pyxis’ ears as they woke up. For a moment, they forgot they were sleeping over at someone else’s house, and their eyes popped open and glanced from side to side. When they saw their friends sleeping around them, a smile came to the their face as they felt a wave of relief and comfort wash over them. They sat and listened to the voices for a moment before rising to their feet and following the light into the kitchen, where four adults - one being Umi - sat around a round, wooden table.

“Good evenin’,” greeted one of the Inklings, a female with brown eyes and pink tentacles, and light brown skin, barely lighter than Umi and her son’s.

“It’s not evening,” Pyxis said, stepping forward. “It’s still morning, isn’t it?”

“It is, for those keeping track,” Umi laughed. “Come sit with us, Pyxis.”

“Thank you,” Pyxis said, taking a seat in the chair Ankyr’s mom pulled out for them.

“This is my sister, Corbi,” she said, gesturing to the female who had greeted them just now.

“Nice to meet you, Ms. Corbi,” Pyxis said with a short bow.

“Well, thank you, dear,” Corbi said, lifting her coffee cup as a greeting to the teen.

“And this is Mr. and Mrs. Waters, Rocky and Caurel’s parents,” Umi gestured to a male and female Inkling, each with the same dark brown skin tone Rocky and Caurel had. The man had purple eyes and matching tentacles, the latter tied up in a neat bun, while the woman’s eyes were green, and her long and flowing hairdo matched the dark blue color Rocky preferred to wear.

“An honor,” Pyxis said, bowing again. “Your children have been very kind to me.”

“This is Ankyr’s new friend,” Umi said, and the other three adults let out a soft chorus of “Ohhh.”

“What? What’s that?” Pyxis asked, sweeping a suspicious glance around the table. “What’s 'oh’?”

“Thank you for putting Ankyr’s smile back, dear,” Umi said, placing her hand over Pyxis’, both of which were folded on the table. “He’s been himself again lately, and I know you had something to do with it.”

“Oh… I wouldn’t say that, ma'am…” Their cheeks turned slightly red, and they lowered their head, apparently finding the table very interesting. “Maybe a little. He brought mine back, too. I don’t know where I lost it, but… I guess we traded.”

“Masterfully spoken,” Mr. Waters smiled. “Graceful. Poetic.”

“Sap,” Corbi suggested, resulting in she and Mr. Waters sticking their tongues out at each other and giggling.

“How do you like school, Pyxis?” Umi asked. “What kind of student would you say you are?”

“Oh, I finished school a few years ago.” This ushered another round of “Ohhh” from the circle.

“What were your favorite subjects in school, dear?” Mrs. Waters asked.

“I’m very fond of the sciences,” the Octoling said. “I was pretty good with Geography… I love the arts, but my school didn’t have that many classes like that. And literature. I loved literature. I think there’s nothing quite like reading a good book.”

“I’ll drink to that,” Umi said, raising her mug in salute before downing the remainder of its contents.

“I took a lot of classes my mom didn’t want me to… Does that make me a bad kid?”

“Sweet Blue Abyss, no,” Corbi laughed.

“It’s natural to be rebellious at that age,” Mrs. Waters said.

“Just like you, Crystal?” Mr. Waters chuckled as his wife tried to shush him.

“Mom was rebellious?” Caurel asked as she emerged from the darkness of the living room and trudged over to the table. She was greeted by the group as she kissed the heads of the adults and squeezed a chair for herself between her parents.

“In her younger days,” Mrs. Waters began after finishing off her latest cup, “your mother was a regular hoodlum. I smashed windows and stayed out past curfew and vandalized public property better than the rest of 'em.”

“What changed?” Pyxis asked.

“She joined the army,” Caurel chuckled.

“I figured I didn’t have anything to lose,” Crystal shrugged. “It was an impulsive decision. It was a baaaaad decision.” The two teens got a laugh out of this. “But it turned out to be the best decision I ever made. I mean, of course it’s not for everyone, but… It helped me become who I am today.”

“A wonderful friend,” Umi said.

“A wonderful mother,” Caurel added. When no one else spoke for about five seconds, she cleared her throat. “Dad, this is where-”

“A wonderful wife,” Mr. Waters said hastily when he finally snapped out of his reverie, raising his cup.

“It’s okay, dear,” Crystal said with a grin. “I knew you were watching the birds out the window.”

“They’re just so gorgeous,” he breathed. “What it would be like to fly…”

“I love you,” she said, nudging him with her cheek.

“Life goals,” Umi said. “Having a relationship that healthy and fulfilling.”

“I heard that,” Corbi said.

“You’re married.”

“I said what I said.”

“I like having a man with a heart of gold,” Mrs. Waters said, kissing her husband on the cheek.

“What kind of men or women are you into, Pyxis?” Corbi asked with a mischievous grin. “Do you like goody-two-shoes or the dangerous, rebellious type?”

“I've… never really thought about it,” Pyxis said, blushing.

“Aw, come on, we won’t tell anybody. I’m sure there are some things you hope for…”

“Well… If I ever get around to looking for that sort of thing… I’d like someone who communicates things to me. You know, doesn’t expect things based on a preconceived idea, and isn’t afraid to talk about their feelings, so we both know what’s going on, we both… know each other… more. I’d also like someone who can make me laugh. Someone I’m comfortable with. And who cares about my dreams, pushes me, supports me, all that. Someone who wants to share life experiences with me.” Mr. Waters nodded and raised his coffee cup to the young Octoling before taking another gulp.

“Well-said, dear.”

“Wow, I’m so shallow,” Corbi whined. Umi patted her on the back.

“Are you planning on going to university, Pyxis?” Mrs. Waters asked.

“I wanted to, but my mom…” Pyxis laughed and shook their head. “Let’s talk about something else for now.”

“What are you guys doing up?” Ankyr mumbled in a sleepy voice as he trudged into the kitchen with a blanket wrapped around him. “We literally went to sleep like an hour ago.”

“We could ask you the same thing,” Caurel said.

“Oh, I just heard the voices of some of the most beautiful people in the world,” he smiled, walking around the table and leaving kisses on top of the heads of his family. “Good morning, Mom… Aunt Corbi… Mama Waters… Kobra… Papa Waters.” He paused at Pyxis, giving them a hug instead before moving on to the fruit bowl on the kitchen counter. “Good morning, Pyxis.”

“Good morning, Pretty Harmless.”

“Pretty Harmless,” Umi echoed with a smile.

“Not in front of my mom.”

“I love it,” his mother said.

“It fits,” Crystal said with a nod. “Ankyr, what do you call her?”

“Them,” corrected Pyxis, Umi, Caurel, and Ankyr simultaneously. The four glanced at each other and smiled.

“Okay, so what do you call them?” Corbi persisted.

“Um… Pyxis,” Ankyr laughed.

“How old are you, Pyxis?” Corbi asked.

“Um… Twenty, ma'am.”

“Twenty,” Umi echoed. The circle of adults exchanged glances. “Hm… Yeah, I think that’ll be fine.”

“It’s nothing like that, Mom,” Ankyr said as he dropped the blanket and went to work peeling oranges and other fruits. “We’re friends, that’s all. And the rest of you should be ashamed of yourselves.”

“I only asked how old they were because I wanted to offer them coffee,” Umi said, her voice rising about an octave.

“Mm-hmm,” Ankyr answered back.

“You may have one cup of coffee, if you’d like,” she said to Pyxis, gesturing to a section of the kitchen counter with a half-full coffee pot and a neat brown rack full of coffee cups, spoons, and tiny bowls of sugar and creamer.

“Oh! Thank you. Are you sure?”

“Absolutely!”

“I’m… Not sure what to get, that’s a lot of flavors.”

“Try this,” Ankyr’s mom said, pouring coffee into an empty mug with repeating bird designs. She dropped a few teaspoons of sugar into it before selecting one of many tiny containers of creamer and pouring copious amounts of the powder into the cup.

“Um,” Pyxis began, but trailed off, not wanting to be rude.

“Trust me,” the older woman smiled as she stirred the mixture. After a moment, she slid the mug toward Pyxis, who accepted it with a bow.

“Thank you.” They lifted the cup to their lips, and soon widened their eyes. “Wow,” they breathed, before lifting the mug once more and taking several gulps. “How did you know I liked mint? And what’s the other thing? Cinnamon? Vanilla? Does all that even go together?”

“I don’t know if it’s supposed to, but I do it anyway,” Umi cackled.

“My sister’s only character traits,” Corbi said. “Writing and coffee.”

CREEEAK went the back screen door as a large male Inkling and Crab entered through the laundry room, bringing in the smell of live sea critters with them.

“Hail the conquering heroes,” cheered the Crab, his eyes smiling, as he carried their buckets full of catches through the sitting area and into the kitchen proper. He lowered his voice when the other adults present shushed him, but continued humming his fanfare quietly to himself. The Inkling leaned over and gave Corbi a kiss before joining his fishing companion with the unloading process.

“That’s my Uncle Marco,” Ankyr told Pyxis between bites of banana. “And his friend, who we all call 'Uncle Shorts’. I… Don’t know why. Mom, why…?”

“I think it was some kind of dumb joke from when we were kids,” Umi shrugged. “Speaking of childhood, Pyxis, I see you’ve been enjoying Splatfest with everyone.”

“It’s a lot of fun,” Pyxis nodded, spinning their cup slowly on the table, examining the small remainder of Umi’s wonderful elixer swimming around in it, wanting to savor it as long as they could. “I’ve never done Turf War. We don’t have anything like that… But Ecto says I’m really good at it.”

“Ecto says they’re a prodigy,” Caurel laughed. “She’s not wrong.”

“Whatever,” Pyxis grumbled, though they were blushing and smiling. They downed the rest of their coffee and got up from the table to wash it out in the sink.

“Honey, you don’t have to do that,” Umi said.

“I know,” Pyxis said, turning to give the woman a low bow once they were done. “But I’m happy to help. Thank you so much for that wonderful coffee, ma'am. I’m going to go back to sleep.”

“Do you think you can with the caffeine?” Ankyr asked, also rising from his seat to set the fruit basket back into its little stack on the counter.

“Oh, yeah. Staying up a full day plus sleeping barely any plus coffee equals a great sleep for me. I’m not sure how that works, or why. But I take it.” They both laughed as they pushed in their chairs.

“Goodnight, my dears,” Umi said. “Sleep well.”

“Thanks, Mom,” Ankyr smiled.

The two walked from the kitchen, back to the living room, and Pyxis examined the photos framed on the wall.

“These are all nice,” they remarked, absent-minded, paying more attention to the pictures than where they were going. Eventually, they bumped into a smaller table holding more photos and decorative knicknacks, though they and Ankyr worked together to make sure nothing fell or broke. “My bad…”

“All’s well that ends well,” Ankyr smiled. The young Octoling stopped to examine a particular photograph in which Ankyr was very young. His tentacles were much longer, hanging freely to knee-length, and he was wearing light green overalls with dark green flower and duck prints, with the word “Quack!” sewn in bold yellow.

“Cute,” they noted with a smile.

“Yeah, um, that’s a, well…” Ankyr stammered out, trying to think of what to say as he touched the corner of the photo’s frame and slid it to the side. “We, well, we… don’t… keep photos of me… When I was that little, I mean… I, uh…”

“Ankyr,” Pyxis said, taking his arm in their hand. “Breathe. It’s okay. You don’t have to explain it.”

“…You know? You know I’m trans?”

“Well… I had an idea. Your voice, your eyebrows, y'know. But I wouldn’t… It’s none of my business unless you make it my business. It’s not something that has to be hidden, but at the same time, it’s not something for me or anyone else to assume.”

“How are you this good with putting all these things into words?”

“I guess because I read a lot of books,” Pyxis shrugged, finally letting go of their friend.

“So… Yeah. I was born with a female body. But… I’ve always been a boy.”

“And now you’re a young man,” Pyxis pointed out. “Well, depending on what societal rules you’re following. You guys are considered adults at 18 over here?”

“Yeah…” Ankyr cleared his throat, as Pyxis gently slid the photo back into view. “Sort of.”

“I like this one right where it was. A picture of my friend, before I knew him, and before anyone knew who he was.” This put a huge smile on Ankyr’s face.

“Thanks… I agreed with Mom to keep just this one… She wanted it because I was smiling in it. I don’t know what I was smiling at, but…”

“It’s a wonderful smile,” Pyxis said, patting him on the back. “The smile of a happy boy with his whole life ahead of him.”

“…Thank you, Pyxis.”

“Of course, Pretty Harmless. You accept a non-binary Octoling as your friend. I can accept a trans Squidling as mine. Easy peasy.”

“Interesting way to put it,” Ankyr laughed, squeezing Pyxis around the shoulders with his left arm.

“You’re a boy. That is who you are. That is who you have always been, no matter what anyone says. And you’re going to be a wonderful man.”

“Well, I’m gonna work on that last one,” he smiled.

“You’re doing a great job so far.”

“Beep beep,” Caurel said from behind them, dragging Ankyr’s blanket with her. “Coming through.”

“By all means, m'lady,” Pyxis said, and the two of them moved out of the doorway to let the female Inkling through. She paused between them and turned around.

“Y'know, I was born in a male body,” she whispered.

“I know,” Ankyr nodded.

“Pyxis didn’t know, silly,” Caurel laughed.

“I actually had no idea on that one,” Pyxis shrugged.

“I swapped to 'female’ at a young age, and have been working on it ever since. It’s been a lot of fun, changing tiny little things about my appearance. I understand why Ankyr hesitates to do it just yet, and I respect his decision, as just about everyone we know does.”

“No two people are the same,” Pyxis nodded, squeezing Ankyr’s hand. “You’re your own person, you get to make all those decisions. I’ll support both of you and cheer you on. I support everyone being who they are.”

“We appreciate it,” Caurel said, hugging the Octoling.

“Yeah,” Ankyr nodded, returning the hand-squeeze.

“So yeah, about that sleep…” They grinned and followed Caurel back to the sea of cushions, with Ankyr bringing up the rear.

“Pyxis!” Penny patted the mattress space next to herself. “Come sleep with me and Caasi!”

“Come again?” Caasi yawned.

“I wanna cuddle with Pyxis. Pyxis, are you okay with cuddling?”

“I love cuddles,” Pyxis said. “When there’s no funny business included.”

“Oh, I save all my funny business for Caasi,” Penny said with a mischievous grin.

“It’s true,” Caasi nodded. Pyxis’ face turned red once more.

“It’s so easy to make you blush!” Penny squeaked. “I love it! Oh, I’m sorry, Pyxis. You’re just so adorable. Please forgive me.”

“Nothing to forgive,” Pyxis said as they lay down and squeezed between Penny and Caasi. “You’re not making fun of me, you’re genuinely finding me adorable, and I find it adorable that you find me so adorable.” This ushered a fake gasp from Penny.

“Unacceptable! You are the most adorable! You cannot adore the adorator! I think… Yeah, I’m pretty sure that’s how it works.”

“I disagree.”

“Oh, blargh, I’m too tired to argue and you guys are really comfortable.”

Meanwhile, Ankyr flopped down between Rocky and Caurel, where he had been before.

“Boo.”

“Boo,” Rocky replied with a yawn. “What time is it?”

“Not enough,” Caurel laughed.

“My favorite time,” Ankyr said, as he and the twins rolled over to squeeze against the others. Ecto and Moises were still asleep, curled up into a ball between Caurel’s legs and Penny’s belly.

“Pyxis, when I call you my pet, I’m not trying to demean you or anything,” Penny said. “And if you don’t want me to do that or any other silly thing, tell me and I won’t.”

“Hey, I’m the one who called myself your pet in the first place,” Pyxis said, patting Penny’s head gently. “It doesn’t make me uncomfortable. It is… weird, but I like it. I’m grateful that you consider my comfort and whatnot. I really enjoy having you around. You’re friendly, and I love battling against you. You’re pretty fearless.”

“Oooh, is that my 'pretty’ name? I love it!”

“I guess,” Pyxis chuckled.

“I love it,” the Inkling repeated, more energetic this time.

“What’s mine?” Caurel asked.

“Hm… I can’t think of one for you just yet,” Pyxis admitted, turning to her with an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry, Caurel. I really do adore you.”

“Aww. I adore you too, hon.” Everyone fell silent, and there was no sound for some time except the conversation they could faintly hear in the kitchen.

“Hey, Pretty Harmless?” Pyxis asked with a yawn.

“Yes, hon?”

“What have you done to me?” Ankyr let out a tiny laugh at this.

“I know, right? They’re all pretty amazing, aren’t they?”

“Pretty amazing,” Pyxis agreed. “But. You’re still my best friend.” This woke the male Inkling up a bit.

“I… I’m your best friend?”

“Yep.”

“He’s my best friend, too,” Rocky mumbled sleepily. “We’re gonna have to fight.”

“I’m not fighting you, Pretty Reckless.”

“Oh alright then fair enough.”

“Oh, good for you, Rocky!” Caurel laughed.

“Shaddup, you.”

“Pyxis?” Ankyr called.

“Yes?”

“Do you… Do you have friends where you live?”

“Of course,” they chuckled.

“But I'm… your best?” Pyxis was silent for a moment before responding.

“You’re the first one who respected me enough to call me 'they’ when I asked you to. You’re the first one to not assume something about me based on what I was born as. And… You’re still my favorite person to talk to.” Several “aaaw"s sounded out in the living room, and Ankyr simply lay there blushing, though no one could see it.

"Pyxis?”

“Yes?”

“Do you like it here?”

“It’s comfortable,” Pyxis nodded. “You guys are comfortable. Your parents, too.”

“Any time you want to, you can come here, okay? If you just want to feel comfortable, or if anything goes wrong, or you’re feeling down… Even if you can’t get in touch with me, you can come here.”

“Ankyr, I’m okay.”

“I know. I believe in you. You’re fierce. And… Well… But… I just wanted to say. You’re welcome here.”

“Thanks.”

“I second that,” Umi shouted from the kitchen, the smile evident in her voice.

“How do you know what we were saying?” her son asked at his regular volume. “We were practically whispering.”

“I’m your mother, I know everything.”

\/\/\/\/\/

The group slept much longer than any of them had planned, and when they awoke, they hung around talking for a bit before bidding farewell to Umi, who was hard at work writing. It wasn’t long before they joined a new battle, and made their way to Saltspray Rig.

“So, last time we were here, you used a roller, right?” Ecto asked. Without waiting for an answer, she continued. “Could you use a shooter this time?”

“I’m a fan of shooters,” Pyxis said, rubbing their hands together with a smile before receiving yet another weapon set from Ecto’s camo bag. “What’s this one?”

“This is the Jet Squelcher. It’s quite slower than the previous shooters you’ve used, but it has a longer range. The sub is the Splash Wall, which I believe you’ve come across.”

“Yeah, one of yours,” they said with an accusing smile. “Or, your team’s.”

“I was about to say,” Ecto laughed. “It’s only the Kelps for me. This season, anyway.”

“Season?”

“I dunno, long stretch of time until I change mains again.” They both laughed at this. “Anyway, the Splash Wall is a barrier enemies can’t fire through. They can destroy it, but that takes time. Also, they can’t pass through it without…”

“SPLAT.”

“As you found out the hard way,” Ecto grimaced. “It only lasts about seven seconds, but that can make a whole lot of difference if you utilize it well. It’s not always easy to do… But you’ve got mad skills and I’m looking forward to seeing what you can do with it.”

“Thank you! And the special?”

“The Inkstrike.”

“Yessss.”

“You know how to use it, yeah?”

“Ohhhh yeah.”

“Okay, make me proud.”

“Killjoys,” greeted Ziggy as he approached the group. “It looks like some of you get the honor of battling with me.”

“What do you want, Ziggy?” Rocky asked, already furious at his presence.

“So feisty early in the night,” the tattooed Inkling laughed.

“Ziggy?” Pyxis asked, raising their eyebrow. “This is him?”

“My reputation precedes me, I see,” Ziggy said, stepping closer to the Octoling. “No… You must be Pyxis, the lovely jewel my siblings ran into last night!” He bowed low, making a twirling gesture with his hand. “I’ve heard so much of your incredible prowess. Care to put a little wager on this match?” They shook their head.

“I’m not here to prove anything. I’m just having fun.” Ziggy threw his head back and laughed at this.

“Yes, yes. We’re all here to 'have fun’,” he said, throwing up air quotes. “But come on, I can tell Ecto’s been testing your capabilities with different weapons. How is this any different?”

“My friend is helping me enjoy a new game,” Pyxis said, stepping to the side to move in front of Ecto almost instinctually. “Your teammate didn’t even ask for my name before being rude and acting like she owned me - and everyone else, for that matter.”

“Yes, Weird is the most brazen of our squad. Still, it would be a shame to let such an opportunity go to waste. I’ll be watching you carefully.” He turned around and smoothly walked toward the yellow spawn pool, giving a short bow to Caurel as he left.

“Wow,” Pyxis said. “He's… something, alright.”

“You have no idea,” Rocky sighed. “Come on, guys, let’s get this show on the road.”

Both teams approached their spawn points - Rocky and Penny to the yellow to meet Ziggy and Gilly, and Pyxis and Ankyr to the red with two Inklings they hadn’t met. They introduced themselves, and learned that one was named Tandy and the other Tyrone.

“Just call me Ty, though,” the male Inkling smiled. “Nice to meet you guys.”

“Same here,” Pyxis said, and Ankyr nodded.

“I’ve never seen you guys around,” he said. “Do you go to school somewhere else?”

“Yeah, Westridge U,” Ty said. Ankyr gaped at them.

“College? You guys are college students?”

“And you still play Turf War,” Pyxis said, nudging Ankyr’s side with their elbow. “That’s awesome.”

“Yeah, we try to squeeze in a battle when we can,” Tandy laughed. “It’s harder than you’d think. Next year we won’t have so many classes, though, so it’ll be better.”

“Yeah, I think we’ve only made like five battles this Splatfest. More than last month, though.”

“Are you guys freshmen?” Before either of their new acquaintances could answer, the starting announcements sounded off, and most of the members of both teams dove into their respective spawn pools.

“Yes, but we can talk about it later,” Ty said, giving Ankyr a wide grin before they both turned to their squid forms as well. They might as well have saved their energy, as the pre-game announcement soon played overhead, and they all rose from the ink in human form. It was only a matter of time…

POW!

Both teams jumped into action. Pyxis, having already played this stage several times the previous night, covered the base quickly enough before swimming along the trail of red ink left behind by Ankyr, who had rolled his way to the long right-hand-side passage and was now dropping down to the lower level. They followed him down before popping back up from the ink.

“Thanks for the road, Pretty Harmless.”

“Any time,” he smiled, giving them a thumbs-up before turning to the left to ink the narrow first-floor passage. Pyxis chose to ink the wall straight ahead and swim up to view the area that served as the “gateway” to the large square at the top of the stage. No one had come this far yet, so they inked as much turf as they could from above before diving down and swimming to the left to look over the edge and examine the battle so far.

Both teams were fighting hard for the rectangular area at the bottom of the mat, some on the top ledges and others right there in the thick of it. Team Queso seemed to be in control at the moment. Meanwhile, Rocky was rolling along on Team Salsa’s side, covering Ankyr’s handiwork with yellow using his own roller, and Ankyr was moving from the center area with the lifts toward the left-hand side, to cover the blank top-left area while everyone else was preoccupied. With a vague idea of how things could go down in the next half-minute, Pyxis turned around and swam toward the large square area, inking a quick path before continuing the swim. When they resurfaced at the top of the incline, they fired several shots between containers, making a path that they then swam along before hiding behind a massive stack of the giant metal boxes.

“Okay, let’s see how we’re doing,” they thought out loud, checking their map.

The yellow team had conquered the lower section, and seemed to be moving on - two from the bridge and one from the base, with one coming up fast on the “gateway”. They could see that the team was taking a “divide and conquer” approach - two streaks of yellow were forming among the red on both sides, while one soon appeared from the elevators.

“Perfect,” they exhaled, firing their Jet Squelcher again to ink as much of the square as they could. “Minute and a half left.” They felt the surge of energy that meant their special was ready, and swam back up the incline as fast as they could, giving one more glance to their map. The yellow team was closing in on the gateway while the red team worked to reclaim the rectangular arena. “About five more seconds and they’ll be… Three… Two… One…”

They readied their Inkstrike and pulled out the tablet, pressing down on the map right where all of the paths converged. WHOOSH! The weapon was launched, and just a second later, the “gateway” was swept up in a red ink tornado. Three messages popped up on their watch all at once.

[Splatted PartyPoisn]

[Splatted 1Ziggy1]

[Splatted Jet-Star]

“So, I missed Gilly…” They noticed a splotch of yellow form where the Inkstrike had turned everything red, and swam toward him.

Right when he noticed their approach, Pyxis threw a Splash Wall, and while the male Inkling shot at the wall with his main weapon, they swam around the T-shaped wall to corner him… Only to fire at nothing, although they did recover the yellow ink. The spraying sound of the Splash Wall ceased as it shut off and disappeared, and right behind them they heard the sound they should have been expecting. They turned around and saw it a second too late.

VHRRMMM-BOOM!

'Seeker,’ they thought to themself as they floated through the air, their pure energy attracted to the red spawn point. 'Should’ve known.’

When they respawned, Pyxis took a glance at their map before swimming back toward the large square, which was where Team Queso were all headed. The Octoling was so caught up in the battle, it didn’t even occur to them at that moment that they could suddenly see the locations of the entire yellow team.

“Minute and a half. Less than.”

They pressed the “C'mon” signal on their wrist device when they dropped down to the lower level, before shifting right back into octopus form and swimming up to the gateway. There was plenty of yellow ink here, which they covered a large amount of on their own before launching another Inkstrike - this one right in the middle of the large square area.

The swirling ink tornado of doom didn’t splat anyone this time, but they pressed on as quickly as possible regardless, swimming up the incline and remaining in the ink for just a few seconds. They could sense a steady rain of ink falling - or rather, being thrown - nearby.

'Slosher. Must be Penny or Gilly.’

An object flew through the air to land a few yards away and explode on contact, the yellow ink mostly missing the Octoling.

'Burst Bomb. Definitely Penny.’

Pyxis swam away the way they had gone, hoping to tempt their Inkling friend away from the route and swim back. However, they weren’t counting on the rest of the yellow team following and cornering them against the T-shaped structure. They all readied their weapons and…

Suddenly, two shooter-type weapons fired from above, behind Pyxis, splatting Rocky and Ziggy simultaneously. Without wasting any time, Tandy and Ty jumped down from their perch and converged their fire on Penny, who was quickly sent back to her spawn pool as well. It all happened so fast, that Pyxis was actually a bit flustered and had to take a moment to register it all.

“W… What the-?”

Meanwhile, Ty and Tandy closed in and splatted Gilly within a second of Penny’s demise.

“Got you covered, friendo,” Tandy winked. “You alright?”

“That was AWESOME!” Pyxis jumped up in the air, flailing their arms. “You just came out of nowhere and… BOOM, BOOM, BOOM. Oh my GOSH!”

“Let’s make the most of it,” Ty chuckled before the two dove into the ink and swam toward the giant square area, which was now free to conquer.

“Right,” Pyxis said, blushing, before following the two. Working together, they managed to cover a fair amount of the yellow with red before the timer ran out and the judge whistled. A quick score screen declared Team Salsa the winner of this battle, and Pyxis jumped up and down for a moment, letting out a loud cheer. It wasn’t long before their friends on the sidelines entered the battlefield, and the Fabulous Killjoys and friends all met in the middle, congratulating Pyxis and Ankyr.

“Hey, where’d Tandy and Ty go?” the male Inkling asked, glancing around the group. “I wanted to thank them for helping us win.”

“I think they said something about essays before disappearing without a trace,” Pyxis beamed. “They’re so cool, aren’t they?”

“Definitely a lot of talent there,” Moises nodded. “I was watching them the whole battle. Hard to keep up with 'em.”

“My, what an exhilerating display of killer instinct,” Ziggy said as he approached the group again, applauding the winning team. “Pyxis, you do seem to have an eerie capability to take advantage of any situation. How do your new friends feel about that?”

“What are you trying to imply, star-boy?” Caasi asked.

“Pyxis,” Ankyr said, stepping in front of the Octoling and turning to stare into their eyes. “Don’t listen to Ziggy. He’s just trying to mess with your head.”

“Ankyr,” they responded, resting a hand on his shoulder as they caught their breath. “I’m a big kid. I dealt with his lackey, and I can deal with him.”

“I appreciate you so much,” he smiled, stepping out of their way.

“So quick to defend their little treasure,” Ziggy taunted, waving Ankyr away with the hand not holding his shooter. “Maybe it’s not the lot of you who are being used, but the Octopus in sheep’s clothing herself being used by her so-called friends.”

“You are so clever,” Pyxis said, stepping closer to the male Inkling. “Nothing gets past you, does it? Or is that what you’d like to think, in your own little world, hiding away from truths you can’t accept?”

“Whatever that’s supposed to mean,” Ziggy scoffed, but there was a discomfort in his eyes that no one was used to seeing him express.

“I’ve done it, too. I’ve done it so much that sometimes I don’t know fantasy from reality. Do you like that feeling? That infinite vagueness? That unexplainable swimming feeling? Like you’re lost at sea?”

“What are you, my therapist?” Ziggy asked, laughing along with the fans standing behind him, though he couldn’t hide the nervous sound of his own laughter. “Get off of my case. I’ve got nothing to prove to you, girl.”

“No, but you sure do have a lot to prove to someone else, don’t you?”

“Just because I admire your skills, doesn’t mean you have the right to speak to me like that,” Ziggy said, stepping closer to Pyxis and speaking in a softer voice. “I can have my crew annihilate you with just a moment’s notice. They are loyal to me, and without mercy to anyone else. You will never want to come back here, I assure you.” This didn’t deter the Octoling in the slightest, and they got even closer to the tattooed Inkling, staring right into his eyes.

“You like collecting people, Ziggy? You’re constantly searching for a new face to add to your little army. But there’s only one you’re really after, isn’t there?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You don’t? Is that why you hold on to that old shooter?” They nodded toward the worn-down Splattershot in the Inkling’s hand. “It looks like something you’ve had since you were a baby. Like something little kids play games with together. I’ll bet you have a matching one, don’t you, Rocky?”

Everyone turned to the roller-wielder, who looked as if he had been caught committing a crime.

“It's… It’s a Splat Roller,” Rocky said, lowering his gaze. “It’s in my room. How did you know?”

“I pay attention,” they said, winking at their friend before turning back to Ziggy. “You guys were friends once, right? Best friends, even? What happened? Do you want to talk about it?”

Ziggy breathed deeper, faster, glancing from one face to the next in the assembled crowd before turning and jumping into the yellow ink, swimming toward the lifts back to the bridge.

“Wow,” Gilly said, turning away with his arms raised high.

“Well,” Ecto began as the crowd started to grow thinner. “That… was something.”

“It sure was,” Rocky said, letting out the world’s longest sigh. “Pyxis, you’re a bundle of surprises. Now if only you could get rid of Rory for me…”

“Rocky!” Rory shouted indignantly, putting on the cutest pouting face she could manage while genuinely holding back tears at the same time.

“Oh yeah, that reminds me,” Pyxis said, straightening up and cracking their neck and knuckles before turning to the Sea Anemone. “Hey, Rory.” Rory turned toward them and screwed up her face into a disgusted frown.

“What do you want?”

“You’re not the only fan of the Fabulous Killjoys.”

“So?”

“So maybe you should be nicer to Moises. He is a founding member, after all.”

“I don’t have to take suggestions from you,” she cackled, no longer on the verge of tears. “You’re not even part of the squad.”

“Oh yeah, I meant to invite you earlier,” Rocky said.

“Noooo, Rocky you can’t do that!”

“Of course, you don’t have to,” the Inkling continued, ignoring Rory. “Just think about it, okay?” Pyxis nodded, but kept their focus on the ordeal they had begun, intending to finish it as smoothly and quickly as possible.

“What does Moises being the biggest fan really do to hurt you?” Pyxis asked. “What if he is? What if someone else is their biggest fan?”

“No way! No way!”

“What if I’M-”

“Stop!”

“What if I’m the-”

“Don’t you say it!”

“What if I’m the biggest fan of the Killjoys?” Pyxis shouted as quickly as they could while still being coherent. The growl Rory unleashed was not like anything anyone had heard from her so far, as she zoomed in to stare Pyxis down, shoving her face less than a foot away from theirs and sending them a furious glare.

“You have officially stepped over the bounds… that should not be overstepped! The ones even farther than the ones everybody steps over all the time like it’s nothing! It is on!”

“Oh, I know,” Pyxis said with a smile.

“You and me, eight-legs! You and me!”

“My thoughts exactly. So any time you feel like someone’s infringing on your personal happy-fun-time-world, you take it up with me instead of harrassing them. Got it?”

“Oh, I got it. I more than got it. I consume it. I bought it at the store, took it home, poured it into a glass of ice, and threw it back like a doubleshot mocha latte!”

“Good,” Pyxis nodded before turning slightly to the right and walking away.

“…'Good’?” Rory turned and watched them leave, and wanted to shoot back something else to have the last word, but she was left speechless.

“Wow,” Caasi said, before following after the Octoling, and the rest of the group did the same - all but Caurel, who stayed behind and wrapped an arm around Rory’s neck.

“You okay, hon?”

Rory shook her head, tears falling from her eyes, and ran to the bridge, passing up the group without looking back.

“Think I went too hard on her?” Pyxis asked as Caurel caught up with the gang.

“With her, there’s no such thing,” Caasi said, receiving an elbow in the side from her girlfriend.

“It’s not anything you said, hon,” Caurel said. “It’s Rocky.”

“I DIDN’T DO ANYTHING.”

“I know,” his twin nodded, hugging him and patting him on the back. “But she needs to realize that no means no… She needs to get over you. And until she does, I’m afraid she’s just going to keep tearing herself up all over again.”

“I’m not going to get rid of her,” Pyxis said to Rocky.

“I know.”

“I just wanted to shake her up a bit. Hopefully she won’t mess with Moises anymore. But I can’t guarantee she’ll second-guess trying to… 'claim’ you.”

“Pretty good, though,” Rocky said, turning to the rest of the gang. “They solve all of our problems! We definitely have to keep them.” This made Pyxis laugh.

“Just keep in mind that you don’t have a responsibility to help us with anything or 'fix’ anything,” Caurel said. Pyxis nodded.

“Yeah. I’m sorry if I’ve pushed any boundaries or anything this weekend when I went into 'defender mode’.”

“No,” a bunch of the Killjoys chimed in, patting them on the back.

“I just get carried away, I guess.”

“I get very carried away when I’m trying to protect my friends,” Caurel said. “So I understand.”

“I really appreciate it, Pyxis,” Moises said. “It’s good to know I’ve got people that’ll stand up for me… Even if it’s not that serious.”

“No problem,” they shook their head. “You deserve to be treated with the same kindness and respect everyone else wants. That’s not too much to ask.”

“I’ll remember.”

“So, do we have everybody?” Rocky asked.

“No,” Caurel said, nodding toward the lift station ahead sadly. “We’re missing one.” Pyxis and Penny hugged her and patted her back, and Rocky sighed.

“I meant, are we all ready to battle?”

“I can battle until I drop,” Pyxis said.

“Okay, everybody ready,” Ecto said, as they all pulled up their SplatNet apps. “Go!” CLICK!

\/\/\/\/\/

“You guys come here a lot?” Pyxis asked as they slid several hangers - all bearing shirts and tops - along a metal rack.

“It’s the go-to if you’re near the tower,” Moises said. “Four shops with pretty much all you could need for battling.”

“Not to mention they’re the only shops anywhere around here that attach abilities to their gear,” Ankyr said. “There are a few useful flea markets around my neighborhood, but that’s a long way to walk.”

Pyxis pulled a Black Layered LS off of the rack - a blank tee over a long-sleeved white shirt.

“This is nice! Too bad it’s Summer. I’d melt in this.”

“No harm in putting in an advanced order,” Penny said. “Just tell Jelonzo when you’ll be ready to buy it, and he’ll order it sometime before then and keep it on hold for you.” She gestured to the shopkeep, an adult Jellyfish who was greeting customers at the door.

“Oh, cool!” They put the long-sleeve back and searched a bit longer before pulling out a black short-sleeved shirt with a pink Squideye symbol on it. It had a wristband attached via tags. “Definitely want this one, too.”

“Ah, the Black Squideye,” Moises said. “Run Speed Up main ability, I believe.”

“I’m a fan of that,” Pyxis nodded, flipping over the price tag. “500, huh? Awesome.” They threw it over their shoulder and continued browsing. “Whoa…” They retrieved a zebra-style tee shirt. “I’m getting this. No question. It’s mesmerizing. Hey, what’s 'Ninja Squid’?”

“GET IT!” Caurel shrieked from across the store, where she was browsing plaid shirts.

“She’s just biased because she IS a ninja squid,” Penny laughed. “That ability makes it so the enemy can’t see your ripples when you swim in your ink. But it’s balanced by lowering your swim speed.”

“But you can make up for that with enough Swim Speed Up, right?”

“I’m so proud of you,” Moises sighed happily. “We have taught you well.”

“I’m a fan,” they said, throwing the shirt over their shoulder as well. “I think that’s it.”

“Sounds good,” Penny nodded. “Cricket, come ooon! You know you’re just gonna stare at the same three plaid shirts for an hour.”

“…You know me so well.” Caurel trudged up to Penny and threw her arms around her while Pyxis went to pay for their things.

“GUYS,” Rocky shouted as he and Ecto entered through the door between Jelly Fresh and Cooler Heads. “Guess what?”

“Hey,” Caurel greeted, glancing at his shopping bags. “Went to Ammo Knights? How’s Mrs. Shellendorf?”

“She’s out,” Rocky said with a puzzled expression. “Her son is covering for her.”

“I didn’t know he was old enough for that,” Caurel said.

“MORE IMPORTANTLY,” Rocky continued, “Bluefin Depot is closing itself to the IBC. We’re not gonna be able to play there anymore!”

“Oh yeah, I heard they were talking about that on the news,” Ankyr said. Rocky glared at him.

“FIX THIS.”

“…What, me? Why me? How? With what magical mystery tools do you expect me to fix this?”

“You live by Bluefin Bay. Talk to them. Tell them no.” Most of the gang chortled at this. “Quiet, all of you!”

“So you think just because I live there, I can do anything about this? I probably couldn’t even approach the person responsible for this decision, let alone convince them to change their minds. Besides, it’s probably the historical society. They’re always mad about everybody’s always dumping their stuff there, so I don’t blame them.”

“We don’t,” Rocky said, fiercely at first but then tapering off hesitantly. “Well… not a lot. Not everyone is littering all the time. Most of the time, we clean up after ourselves.”

“And I’m sure they appreciate it,” Ankyr said, wrapping his arm around his friend and rubbing his back. “But this is bigger than us.”

“Can I hug you, Rocky?” Pyxis asked as they returned from the desk with a new blue bag to go along with the pink and green ones they already had.

“I don’t need hugs,” Rocky said, calmer this time, as he brushed Ankyr off. “Let’s just go to Shrimp Kicks.”

\/\/\/\/\/

Pyxis stepped off of the Spin Light ferry and walked up the road to the cliffside where their usual kettle rested. They shifted into octopus form and squeezed through a hole in the metal grate, falling down for several hundred feet before dunking into a wide, shallow pool of purple ink, which hurt when, on a normal day, it wouldn’t.

“Gah! That’s right.” They jumped out of the pool as fast as they could, and shook off as much of the ink as they could. “Different color. Oh well, I like this one better.” They walked toward one of the two kettles in the dark cave, lit only dimly by a small blue cube that the people in their city called a “lightning box”.

They dropped through this kettle and rode down a slanting pipe which opened up into a small pavilion within a bright and bustling city. The pavilion acted as a kettle checkpoint and bus station all in one, and a bus was chugging around the corner just in time. When they ascended the stairs and paid the fare, a loud voice shrieked from the back of the bus.

“PIXIIIIIIIEEE!”

“Shera?” Pyxis turned just in time to be attacked with a tight hug. “Oof! Hi.”

“I missed you, girl! Where’ve you been?”

“I said I had weekend plans,” Pyxis said once the other Octoling let them go, and the two moved back to where she had been sitting. “As in, the whole weekend.”

“Yeah, but you didn’t give your crew the down-low! Where did you go, across the world or something?”

“That would take longer than-”

“What’s the swag?” she asked, gesturing to the bags Pyxis was holding. “I’ve never seen those logos before…” She gasped. “You didn’t go… over THERE, did you?”

“Shera.”

“Okay, okay, I’ll save my questions for the sleepover.”

“The what-now?”

“I was on my way to your house! That’s why I was on the bus in the first place.”

“Without even asking me?”

“Oh, come on…”

“Did you talk to Carina and-”

“Yeees. They told me not to. But you know how lame and boring they can be,” she laughed.

“I know that they’re decently considerate and usually right when they tell you no.”

“Pixiiiie, come on.”

“You can stay-”

“Yay!” she squeezed Pyxis. “Thank you, Pixie!”

“IF you clean up after yourself. I’m really tired.”

“Ugh. Fine. Only for you, my dearest friend.”

“Mmm-hm.”

\/\/\/\/\/

“I’ll go no more a-ro-ovin’ with you, fair maid~”

Pyxis and Shera had left the bus and walked the rest of the way to the formers’ apartment, and now that they had conquered the stairs, Pyxis felt much less exhuasted.

“A-rovin’, a-rovin’, since rovin’s been my ru-I-N, I’ll go no more a-ro-ovin’ with-”

Pyxis stopped singing and skipping when they saw an older Inkling standing in front of their door.

“Mom?”

“Pyxis, where have you been?” The woman approached her daughter, holding up her phone. “I have called and texted you twenty times today! Where were you?”

“I went out,” Pyxis said after a moment’s hesitation. “With some friends. I told you I wouldn’t be home.”

“Not home in time for Sunday communion?”

“Oh boy,” Shera breathed, moving out of the way.

“You stay out of this, you heathen,” the older woman said with a glare and a finger pointed at the young Octoling, who raised her hands up in defense.

“Mom, I had plans. It happens.”

“No, it doesn’t just 'happen’,” their mother barked. “You do not miss Sunday church. And what is this…?” She stared horrified at the red color of Pyxis’ tentacles. “This is not our color. Where did you get this shirt? And these bags?”

“My friends took me out…”

“There’s something you’re not telling me. What’s going on? Why won’t you tell me?”

“Mom, everything’s fine, I promise.” Their mother took a deep breath and straightened up her stature.

“Look, I don’t have time to argue with you. I was gonna visit, but because you didn’t show up until two in the afternoon, I’ve got to go.”

“Take care, mom,” Pyxis said, turning around when their mother walked past. Their gut was overcome with a sinking feeling that was all too familiar by now. “I’ll see you soon.”

“Oh, you’ll see me tomorrow night, at church,” the woman said. “And I want you there early.”

“Yes, ma'am.”

“I mean it, Pyxis.”

“Yes, ma'am.”

And soon, the woman was down the stairs and down the street.

“Well, that was terrifying as usual,” Shera said as Pyxis unlocked and opened the apartment door and stepped inside.

“Shut up, Shera.”

“Wow, you can see the dents when she was banging away at your door.”

“Shuuuush.” Pyxis fell down on their sofa and snuggled up to the old cushions, burying their face in a purple decorative pillow while Shera closed the door.

“So what are we doing now?”

“I’m sleeping.”

“Oh, come on!” The green-haired Octoling pleaded, kneeling on the floor in front of the couch. “Give me the dish on what you’ve been up to this weekend!”

“No. Let’s just sleep.”

“Can I have some food?”

“Well, you’re already here, so go ahead,” Pyxis said, their voice shaking. They were about to doze off, when they remembered… “Oh yeah, phone…” They opened their watch and phone to turn the volume back on, and found more messages and notifications than they’d ever received all at once. They scrolled through the meseages from their mother, then the ones from Shera, then moved on to the Splatfest app.

.:You’ve been invited to thefabulouskilljoys group chat!:.

[Accept] [Decline]

They clicked “Accept” and an instant messaging group took over their screen.

“Oh boy, better use the phone.” They turned off the watch and focused their attention to the phone.

[13:49]Jet-Star: THERE THEY ARE!

[13:49]Sunshine: Hey Pyxis!

[13:50]KobraKid™: Pyxiiiiis! :D

The Octoling smiled and typed a message with their thumbs.

[13:51]Pyxis: Guys!

Pyxis: Thanks for the invite! Hold on, I have more notifications.

[13:51)DrDthDfyng: That’s probably our friend requests! :)

[13:52]Pyxis: Who’s DrDthDfying?

[13:52]DrDthDfyng: MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

[13:52]Sunshine: Moises lol

[13:52]Pyxis: Ohhh. Okay brb!

They navigated to a large stack of SplatNet notifications and responded to each, one at a time.

.:Sunshine wants to add you as a friend:.

.:PartyPoisn wants to add you as a friend:.

.:Fun Ghoul wants to add you as a friend:.

.:KobraKid™ wants to add you as a friend:.

.:AbbeyRoad wants to add you as a friend:.

.:JustCaasi wants to add you as a friend:.

.:DrDthDfyng wants to add you as a friend:.

.:Jet-Star wants to add you as a friend:.

They accepted all of the friend requests, then went back to the group chat.

[13:58]Jet-Star: So now that we’re all here… Who’s up for cleaning up Bluefin Bay tomorrow?

[14:00]Sunshine: After school?

[14:00]Fun Ghoul: Pyxis, hey! :D

[14:00]DrDthDfyng: On a Monday?

[14:01]Jet-Star: Yeh

[14:01]Fun Ghoul: Wait, what’s this about cleaning things?

[14:02]Jet-Star: Cleaning the beach and the depot.

[14:02]KobraKid™: That’s very thoughtful of you, bro.

[14:03]DrDthDfying: Yeah but there’s no way we can clean all of that.

[14:05]Jet-Star: Okay, so we clean what we can. An hour or something, that’s it. Then we go back to Turf War.

[14:05]Jet-Star: I mean, you can say no. Either way I’ll be there.

Pyxis couldn’t help the smile growing on their face. The tears they had been fighting off since the encounter with their mother finally poured out, now filled with mirth and comfort, their cheeks warm and their stomach settled.

'I love these people.’

[14:06]Pyxis: I’ll be there.

[14:06]Sunshine: I’ll be there.

[14:06]Sunshine: Haha.

[14:06]Pyxis: :3

[14:07]KobraKid™: I have plans but I’ll be there thirty minutes-ish later.

[14:08]Jet-Star: Helping the baseball team again?

[14:08]KobraKid™: You don’t know my life!

[14:09]Fun Ghoul: I’ll be there.

[14:10]DrDthDfyng: I guesssssss I can go.

[14:10]Jet-Star: Alright then, it’s settled.

[14:12]AbbeyRoad: I’m working that afternoon, sorry.

[14:13]Pyxis: Aww, we’ll be okay with you being there in spirit!

[14:13]AbbeyRoad: :))

[14:14]Pyxis: Wait, where are Penny and Caasi?

[14:14]KobraKid™: They’re sleeping.

[14:15]Pyxis: Good idea, I’m about to pass out, myself.

[14:15]KobraKid™: Awww. Goodnight, Pyxis!

[14:15]Pyxis: Goodnight!

Pyxis had just begun to doze off, when another beep came from their phone.

“Uuuuuuugh.”

They opened their texting app and…

Kilin: Hey.

“Not nooooow.” They began typing a response despite their objections.

Pyxis: Hey.

Kilin: How was your weekend?

Pyxis: Awesome! How are you?

Kilin: Pretty good. Are you busy?

Pyxis: I’m just going to sleep.

Kilin: Oh.

Kilin: I’m about to visit with my mom. Sleep well. Talk to you later.

Pyxis: Have fun! Goodnight.

“UUUUUGH.” They buried their face in a pillow.

“You’re so dramatic, Pixie,” Shera said while eating their host’s ice cream.

\/\/\/\/\/


	6. Oh! You Pretty Things

**6\. Oh! You Pretty Things**

"Gloves? Check. Bags? Check."

"Music? CHECK!" Penny pressed a spot on her phone and unleashed a blaring song from the speakers.

"Squid Squad, yay!" Pyxis cheered, causing Penny to squeeze them with a hug.

"You've listened to more of them! I'm so happy!"

"Yeah, they're totally up my alley. They're like Tomorrow's Warning but cleaner. Sorry, Ankyr."

"No, it's true," the male Inkling smiled at them, leaning on the rake he brought. "I'm a fan of that messy, raw, garage sound, myself. But I'll listen to anything that makes me wanna jump around and dance."

"Same!" the Octoling shouted, doing a goofy dance to the Metal music blaring from Penny's phone, which was soon blaring from the tiny speaker she plugged to it. They eventually stopped and straightened up their stance. "Sorry," they cleared their throat.

"No, no, I liked it," Ankyr chuckled. "So, did everything go over okay yesterday?"

"Yeah, pretty well," Pyxis shrugged.

"Really?" the male Inkling gave them a look, worried about their sudden change in tone.

"Yeah, it was fine. One of my friends kept asking a lot of questions I wasn't sure how to answer, but she does that all the time anyway."

"Oh, like Cricket," Penny laughed.

"Somebody say my name?" Caurel approached the group, wiping her glasses off on her shirt. "I sneezed."

"Welcome to the party, dear," Penny said, hugging her best friend and getting sand and garbage residue on her already-sweaty baseball shirt.

"Yo, what did I miss?"

"Not much, just talking about someone who asks as many annoying questions as you."

"Hey!"

"Not those kinds of questions," Pyxis shook their head, tapping the rake against the ground to free it of a clinging clump of plastic. "When Caurel asks you questions, you can tell she really cares. Well... I suppose Shera cares, too."

"She care-a's because she's Shera?" Moises asked with a wink, setting most of the group into laughter.

"That was dumb," Caasi said.

"It was SO dumb," Ecto said. "But that's what's so great about it."

"So, when's the next Splatfest going to be announced?" Pyxis asked, trying to take the subject away from themself. "They're once a month, right?"

"Yep," Rocky nodded, tying up his first full bag of garbage. "The next one should be announced a week or two from now, most likely."

"Sweet! Can't wait to wipe more floors."

"Hey now," Penny laughed. "Don't get overconfident just because your team won this time."

"Bitter Queso player," Caurel half-whispered, giving Penny a wink.

"Oh yeah," Rocky said, "I don't know if we told you, but you can't wear that shirt in battle ever again."

"WHAT? But... It's my favorite shirt!" Pyxis tugged at the red tee as if clinging to a departing friend.

"That's the rules, sorry," he shook his head.

"You'll get another one next Splatfest," Caurel explained. "It'll be for whatever team you pick next time."

"So, I can still collect them and wear them outside of battle."

"Of course! I keep mine all neatly folded in a special drawer just for Splatfest gear. Rocky's are... heaped up in his closet somewhere, I guess."

"You don't know my life!"

"I put them in shoeboxes under my bed," Ecto said.

"I pin mine to my bedroom wall," Penny said.

"Ooh, maybe I'll start a Splatfest shrine," Pyxis cheered.

"That's the spirit!"

Bit by bit, more and more people showed up with bags and gloves of their own, cleaning up other patches of the bay.

"Wow, people noticed," Rocky said. 'I think we're trendsetters!

"I think people do this all the time," Caasi said. "It would be way worse if they didn't."

"Can't you let me have anything?"

"Hey, guys," Ankyr's mother greeted as she arrived.

"Mom!" most of the group cheered.

"Care to join us, Umi?" Pyxis asked as they accepted a hug from the older woman.

"That's the plan! Ankyr told me about Rocky's idea. Got extra gloves?"

"You know it," Ecto said, showing her huge bag of gloves. "Safety first!"

"I'm so proud of my young adults, making a difference in the world," she said, giving out a round of hugs to the flock. "It makes me feel more assured I did a good job as a parent."

"You raised us well, Mom," Penny said, planting a kiss on the adult Inkling's cheek. "Along with all the rest of our parents."

"Including the professor," Caasi said, nudging her girlfriend in the side.

"Well, now you've made it weird."

"Who's the professor?" Pyxis asked.

"Penny's dad," Caasi said. "Who she needs to call more often."

"The dad that isn't Mr. Waters," Penny said. "The professor adopted me, but-"

"But she practically lived at our house until she got her apartment," Caurel cut in.

"She still lives there sometimes," Rocky pointed out.

"And sometimes at my house," Caasi added. "She kind of just floats from place to place like some fae vagabond."

"What can I say?" Penny shrugged. "I'm a mercurial spirit."

"I can think of a few other 'M' words, too," her girlfriend chuckled.

"Masterful?" the Inkling asked with a smile.

"Moronic," Ecto suggested with a grin.

"Hey!"

"Majestic?"

"Thank you, Pyxis!"

"Moody," Rocky said.

"Mischievous," Umi suggested.

"Musical," Ankyr cheered.

"Mellifluous," Caurel laughed, to which Penny ran and jumped on her back, throwing her arms around her neck. "Hey! Get off!"

"Don't call me things I don't know the meaning of!"

"It was a compliment!"

"Well, I don't know that, do I?!" This earned a round of laughter from most of the group.

"Guys, stop fooling around or we'll never clean this beach," Rocky said, ignoring his friends' antics in favor of picking up trash.

"It's so weird to see my brother care so much about something other than Turf War," Caurel said as Penny slid off and got back to work. Rocky turned around and gave her a puzzled expression.

"What are you talking about? Why do you think I'm doing this in the first place? So we won't lose Bluefin Depot!"

"We should've known," Ankyr laughed as Caurel fell down.

After about an hour of hard work, the team called a dinner break, and sat on a nice rocky outcropping in their tiny cleaned area.

"So," Umi said after consuming a sandwich in just a few seconds, "Ankyr is Pretty Harmless. Ecto is Pretty Relentless. Rocky is Pretty Reckless. And Penny is Pretty Fearless?"

"Yep," Pyxis nodded between bites of a cucumber and spinach sandwich. "And Caasi is Pretty Ruthless."

"I like it," the Crayfish said, bobbing her head up and down. "Thanks, Pyxis."

"Moises is Pretty Listless," the Octoling continued, giving Caasi a thumbs-up and winking.

"It's true," Moises nodded. "I don't know what energy is. Is it something I can eat?"

"I mean, technically yes?" Ecto shrugged. "You gain energy by eating food, so..."

"Exactly," the Jellyfish cheered. "Eat food, get energy, apply energy to designing clothes, eat food to reward myself."

"That's the way," Caurel giggled.

"It's looking better," Rocky mumbled absentmindedly when he finished his own meal, staring at the newly de-trashed sand beneath their feet. "I wonder if... we can clean more on the weekends. I want to get the plastic that's deep in the water, too."

"Are you sure you don't care about the bay?" Caurel asked with a wink. Her twin brother blushed blue and turned away from her.

"Sh... Shut up! I don't have to answer to you!" The rest of the group got a good laugh out of this.

"You young'uns have done great," Umi said, patting Rocky's blue head. "I'm so proud of you!"

"You're not so bad at saving the environment yoursef, Umi," Pyxis grinned before sipping their water.

"Saving the environment?" an older Inkling chimed in from nearby. "Pretty big claim. You've gotten maybe one percent of this part of the bay cleaned. And that's not even counting the junk in the water. Why don't you just give up?"

"What do you say, young adults?" Umi asked, glancing around the small group. "Should we give up?" Everyone exchanged glances. Rocky, raising his trash-grabber into the air, was the first to speak.

"NEVER!" And with that, he jumped off of the boulder and ran back into the fray.

"If everyone surrendered in the face of adversity, nothing would ever get done," Caurel said, giving the elderly squid a low bow before following after her brother with a fresh trash bag.

"Whatever the crap Cricket just said sounds motivating," Penny shrugged, getting up slowly and stretching before she and the rest of the group ran after the twins.

"Guess that answers that question," Umi said, dusting off her hands and picking up the net she had been using to scoop trash out of the bay.

"Are you mocking me?"

"Oh, no sir, I would never," Umi said, shaking her head. "I just think it would be wise not to underestimate our future." And with that, she went back to work.

\/\/\/\/\/

"And now, you finally get the full Killjoy experience," Rocky said as he led Pyxis and the rest of the worn-out squad through the welcoming doors of the Yellow Submarine.

"This place is nice."

"Yeah, I-Oh Great Zapfish, we've never brought you here, have we?" Caurel asked, wide-eyed.

"Um... It's okay, I'm here now."

"No, that's not the point," she shook her head. "This place is sacred to us."

"Outta the way, I got work to do," a waiter said hurriedly, pushing through the group even though she had a full tray in either hand.

"Charming," Pyxis smiled, giving an awkward thumbs-up.

"You get warmed up to it eventually," Moises said.

"This is where Penny and Abbey work?" They glanced around the diner with its checkered floors, not-so-clean tables and walls covered with photos and memorabilia.

"Not today," Penny said, doing a little dance. "I mean, yes, Abbey is working today. But they should be off soon!"

"Anyway, to the booth," Moises said.

"TO THE BOOTH!"

The group squeezed into their usual corner booth, gesturing for Pyxis to follow suit. They nodded and took a seat next to Caasi.

"This is comfy!"

"Right?" Caurel passed out the menus that were still stacked on the table.

"Move over," an exhausted Abbey said as they shoved into the booth, a lidless bottle of water in their hand, which they quickly took a few gulps from.

"Sure thing," Pyxis nodded, scooching as much as they could. They retrieved a fan from their bag and opened it as quickly as possible to fan their friend. "You look like you've been through the ringer, Abbey."

"I have, but ohhh that helps. Faster, faster."

"I've never seen you this assertive," Rocky said. "I like it."

"Shut up, Rocky."

"Yes sir!"

"Tell me about your day, honey," Penny said, grasping Abbey's hand lightly.

"It's just been so busy. I haven't been able to take a breath, let alone a drink of water." As if the word reminded them that water existed, they stopped to down the remaining contents of their bottle.

"Oh hey, Abbey, Penny! Are these your friends?"

An Inkling with his tentacles cut to ear-length approached, dressed in the usual yellows and cream colors worn by the Yellow Submarine's staff. He held menus, but only needed to hand out two of them.

"Hey, Jude," Abbey sighed weakly. "Yep, these are my peeps. You've probably seen them around, they practically live here."

"It's true," Moises nodded. "Sad but true. Except I'm not sad about it at all."

"A few times," he smiled shyly, holding his hands together behind his back. "Man, I wish I had friends who took such great care of me on a day like this."

"Just lean in, hon," Pyxis said, aiming the fan at his face. "I've got plenty of air for everyone."

"Noooo, aim that thing back at me," Abbey whined, not removing their head from the table.

"What can I get you guys to drink?" Jude asked as Pyxis did their best to fan the both of them.

"I'll have the Day Tripper Deluxe and a coconut juice, please," Ecto said, folding up her menu and flopping it down on the table.

"I'd like a Baby, You're a Rich Man with extra garlic, please," Ankyr said. "And a creme soda."

"Can I get the Kelp! with a side of potatoes?" Moises asked, to which Jude nodded, jotting down all of their orders. "And an algae pop, please."

"A krill and pineapple pizza for my love and I," Penny said, planting a kiss below Caasi's left eye.

"Penny," Caurel gasped. "You said that sentence correctly! I'm so proud of you!"

"Get off me with your grammar," Penny scoffed. "Hey Jude, remember the 'Twin Trough' Sarge put on the off-menu?"

"Yeah...?" Penny pointed to Rocky and Caurel.

"For them. He'll probably have it hot and ready, considering it's a Monday."

"Ah, cool, I thought I remembered bringing it to those two," the male Inkling nodded as he jotted down the instructions.

"You guys gave it a name?"

"I mean, we had to, eventually," Penny laughed.

"What are you getting, Pyxis?" Abbey asked. "It's your first time here, right?"

"Yeah," Pyxis nodded. "There are a lot of options that sound great. But I think, since I've never been here, I'll start off with the classic Yellow Submarine. And a water, please."

"Excellent choice," Jude smiled. "And what can I get you, Abbey?"

"More water. Please."

"Have you eaten today?" Penny asked.

"Water, please," they repeated.

"Sure, sure," he nodded, gathering the menus into a massive stack. "I'll have your drinks out in a jiffy!"

"Thanks, Jude."

"Pyxis, where'd you get that fan?" Caurel asked. "It's a really cool design."

"You like it?" The Octoling paused in their fanning long enough to show off the firework pattern. "Someone gave it to me at Splatfest. They gave Ankyr one, too." As if in answer, their best friend reached into his backpack and retrieved a fan, which he quickly opened to reveal an image of ocean waves.

"Ooh, fireworks and the ocean," Penny said, admiring the delicately crafted fans. "The perfect combination for Summertime."

"I can't wait for Summer vacation," Rocky sighed.

"I second that," Ecto nodded as she flipped through a notepad and scribbled a few notes in a handwriting only she could read without trying too hard.

"Can we put the air back on the dying squid now?" Abbey asked.

"Of course," Pyxis said, going back to fanning the exhausted Inkling - a task Ankyr now aided in.

"Here comes the drinkage," Moises announced, happily holding a tentacle out for his algae pop, which Jude delivered before gracefully setting the rest of the drinks in front of their owners.

"Can I get you anything else while I'm here?" the waiter asked.

"Breadsticks, please," Ecto said.

"Coming right up," he said with a sparkling smile and a wink before zipping away again.

"Oh, damn," the tinkerer blinked. "I think I might be bi." Most of the crew got a good laugh out of this.

"I'll cheers to that," Abbey said, finally raising their head up and lifting their new water glass in Ecto's direction before gulping down the entire thing.

"So, what masterpiece are you designing over there?" Caurel asked.

"Oh, just making notes for future me," Ecto shrugged. "I'm sure I'll turn them into something useful eventually. Maybe"

"No, definitely. Don't sell yourself short."

"Thanks, Caurel... Hey, got any new designs lately?"

"Oh, that's right, there are a few sketches we need to go over," Caurel said, adjusting her glasses before retrieving a binder from her backpack and setting it down in front of Moises. "I need a yea or nay on the yellow-tabbed ones," she told the Jellyfish, flipping through her portfolio of sketches and paintings. "And the blue ones, if you have any notes...?"

"Got it," Moises said, peering carefully at the first sketch. "Hey, don't flip while I'm looking!" Caurel had held the previous page in place while flipping through older drawings, before opening the rings of the binder and pulling out a completed design with a green tab.

"Ecto, what do you think about this one?"

The young inventor stared intently at the drawing: a faceless model wearing black slacks and a matching open sport jacket over a dark violet shirt. The jacket and slacks had thin grey lines drawn in the shapes of gears - five or six large ones, and countless smaller ones the naked eye could barely pick up. The outfit was accompanied by a pair of black leather boots.

"I... You know I don't know anything about fashion, Kobra," she shrugged. "But. I think it looks amazing. The gears definitely make it look less boring. But they're really faint, so it doesn't look like they were just slapped on by an amateur. I mean, of course not, it's you."

"Thanks!" Caurel was blushing dark green. "Would you like to model it sometime?"

"Model?" Ecto's eyes went wide. "Caurel... I'm not the type people want to model clothes..."

"Nonsense, you'd look handsome in it! Oh, Caasi, here's one you'd like." She retrieved the next plastic-bound page from the binder. This design was a black and white closed vest with orange accents, with a pair of loose-fitting pants that spread out smoothly near the feet.

"Ooh, palazzo, I love it," Caasi said, accepting the design from her bespectacled friend. "And you even put additional sleeves in the vest. Caurel, you are truly the better sibling."

"What-now?" Rocky asked, lifting his head from the table and turning his attention to the Crayfish.

"Nothing, dear friend of mine." The group shared a round of laughter.

"I made this one with Penny in mind," Caurel said, handing another green-tabbed design to the young actor. The Inkling in question stared wide-eyed at the fluffiest, most sparkling dress she had ever seen, with a pair of loose-fitting blue jeans underneath. The outfit was accentuated with checkered wristbands, rainbow bracelets, and a denim armband below her right shoulder with many safety pins and hair accessories stuck into it.

"I love this," she gasped. "Can you make me this? I will wear it every single day!"

"Done," Caurel nodded.

'Caurel has her friends in mind when she creates,' Pyxis thought to themself, smiling at the bespectacled Inkling. 'She thinks about things they'd like to wear, and turns them into reality because she loves them... That's probably the greatest thing I've ever seen. I'd like to create something from the feelings in my heart, too...'

"Hey, Caurel?"

"What's up, Pyxis?"

"...You're pretty flawless."

"Thanks, I... Wait. Is that my 'pretty' name?"

"I think it is," the Octoling nodded.

"Oh, Pyxis! That's... That's not true, though... Everyone has flaws..."

"Just take it, Cricket," Penny said. "It suits you. People always use words like 'flawless' and 'perfect' when they really just mean 'the best I've ever known'. It fits, trust me. I just wish I'd thought of it first, considering I'm your best friend."

"Sorry, Penny," Pyxis winked. "Oh, Caurel..." Her Inkling friend had tears in her eyes, which she quickly wiped away.

"I'm fine, hon," she shook her head. "Thank you so much."

"Thank you for being such a great friend."

"Don't make me cry more," Caurel laughed. "Oh... Ankyr, I was thinking about you when I made this one." She pulled out yet another design, getting a slightly annoyed glance from Moises this time as he once again adjusted the binder.

"This is great," Ankyr smiled when he received the page. This design was a light, sleeveless jacket over a long-sleeved plaid shirt, with a pair of black jeans accented with blue swirls to match the shirt's sapphire shades.

"I really like that vest," Pyxis cleared their throat, accepting the subject change. "It looks kind of like a waistcoat."

"It's a gilet," Moises nodded.

"What about jelly?" Rocky asked, lifting his head up again.

"No, gilet, it's a kind of sleeveless jacket. They were made to look formal but casual at the same time, I think."

"Oh... Sorry, I'm hungry."

As if on cue, Jude returned with a large tray full of food, which he sat on a neighboring table before delivering the usual trouph of stew in front of the twins.

"Okay well, time to eat," Moises said, closing the binder and handing it back to Caurel. "We can talk more business later."

"Moises..."

"It's fine, it's fine," he said, waving his tentacles as a very large bowl of rice and noodles and a plate full of lettuce was placed in front of Ecto.

"He had these two almost finished when you guys got here," Jude said with a smile. "Apparently you guys hardly ever eat anything but these two items. I'll keep that in mind for your future convenience!"

"Oof," Ecto murmured to herself, lowering her gaze.

"Thank you so much," Rocky beamed after plucking a dumpling from the trough and swallowing it whole. "You brought us food! How can I ever repay you? I'll follow you to the ends of the Earth if I have to!"

"Ah, I see," Abbey scoffed. "You'll just fall in love with anyone who feeds you."

"I'm still dedicated to you, Abbey!"

"I didn't say I wanted that!"

"A Yellow Submarine," Jude announced, depositing a very long sub sandwich in front of Pyxis.

"Thank you, this looks amazing," the Octoling smiled.

"Kelp! with potatoes," the waiter continued, setting down a masterfully-made seaweed salad and a side of gravy-soaked mashed potatoes in front of Moises.

"Marvelous, encore, five stars," the Jellyfish said, digging in immediately.

"And a Baby, You're a Rich Man with extra garlic," he concluded, delivering a large plate full of spaghetti to Ankyr.

"Thanks!"

"I'll be right back with the pizza," Jude announced with a low bow before departing once more.

"Thank you, Jude," the group called together.

"That pasta reminds me of one of my favorite dishes back home," Pyxis said as Ankyr jammed a forkful of noodles and mushrooms into his mouth.

"You can try some if you want," he said after chewing and swallowing. His Octoling friend nodded and took a small sample with their own fork.

"Mmmm... Maybe this one's better..."

"Maybe I really am hungry," Abbey sighed. "Now that I smell all this... I guess I should get out of here anyway."

"We'll share our food with you," Penny said. "There'll be plenty pizza slices to go around."

"Abbey-san, have some of mine," Rocky said, jabbing a fork into another dumpling and waving it over the table.

"I will if you stop calling me that," the agender Inkling laughed, grabbing the dumpling and throwing it in their mouth immediately. "Oh... Oh gods, what is this? This isn't our usual dumpling, is it?"

"It's cooked in a special stew, so it tastes different," Caurel said.

"You mean 'tastes better'," Rocky said. "This is why it's always good to order off the menu."

"I agree," Abbey nodded after finishing off the dumpling. "I'll be ordering this from now on."

"Abbey is impressed by my food," Rocky said, wiping a tear from his eye. "I'm so happy."

"Knock it off," Caurel said, smacking her brother. "It's not like you cooked it."

"Oh! That settles it! Abbey, come over sometime and let me cook for you! You won't regret it! I'm the apprentice of a master chef!"

"Since when do I go to your house?"

"Honestly," Caurel agreed with a sigh. "You're acting as bad as Rory."

"How dare you!"

\/\/\/\/\/

\/\/\/\/\/

Two weeks passed, and Fourth Month began. Summer was soon to be in full swing, and only those who could stand the heat continued battling outside every day. The Fabulous Killjoys, and sometimes their friends, made it a habit to spend at least an hour after school every day cleaning up trash from Bluefin Bay, and though on a large scale there wasn't much of a difference, they all felt proud of their contribution.

"So, what's the current stages?" Penny asked, prompting Ecto to look at her wrist device.

"What _are_ the current stages," Caurel corrected.

"Cricket?"

"Yes, dear?"

"Shut up."

"No, dear."

"FINALLY, Station Square!"

"STATION SQUARE!" the Killjoys, for the most part, shouted all at once.

"Wow," Pyxis laughed. "You guys must really love that stage."

"It's not all that amazing," Rocky shrugged. "As a stage, anyway. But it has sentimental value."

"Mmm, the most delicious kind of value," Moises said, prompting a lighthearted laugh from Pyxis.

"What's the other stage, Ghoul?" Ankyr asked, not taking his eyes off of his splatling, which he was cleaning with a blue liquid.

"Walleye Warehouse." Rocky let out a cheer at this, while most of the other Killjoys groaned.

"I remember that one," Pyxis said.

"I don't know why," Caurel said, sticking out her tongue. "It's not very memorable."

"You leave my stage alone!" her twin shouted.

"So, are we ready?" Ecto asked, her finger less than an inch from an icon on the tiny screen. Everyone who wanted to play confirmed they were prepared to join, and soon enough they were scheduled for a battle at Station Square due to start in less than fifteen minutes.

"Light blue versus yellow," Caurel announced after a glance at the match-up results on her phone. The battlers changed tentacle color accordingly - Pyxis, Rocky, Penny, and Ecto turned blue, and yellow for Ankyr, Caurel, and...

"Who are 'Dagger' and 'Cloak'?" Pyxis asked.

"Guess we'll find out when we get there," Rocky shrugged.

"Whoa, notifications," Ecto said when her wrist device made several pinging sounds. "Jet-Star, could you possibly stop making a post every time we join a battle?"

"Our fans want to know where they can cheer us on," the blue-tentacled Inkling argued.

"Okay, just don't tag all of us in them."

"Yay, Abbey's coming!" Penny cheered, looking at her phone.

"Moby, too," Ankyr said with a glance at his, and he and Pyxis smiled at each other.

"See?" Rocky stuck out his tongue, to which Ecto answered with her own.

"Alright then, to the train!"

"TO THE TRAIN!"

\/\/\/\/\/

"Now arriving at Station Square. We remind you that our left-side doors will remain locked. Please use the right-hand exits."

Pyxis was in the middle of wondering why the voice on the intercom would make such a request, when they heard the sounds of a shooter-type weapon, and the left-hand windows of their train car were covered in lime-green ink.

"What the-?" They couldn't resist laughing from surprise and elation. "The trains count as turf? The trains count as turf!"

"Yep," Ankyr laughed along with them. "It's all part of the experience."

"THIS is why I see trains covered in ink sometimes?" Pyxis cackled. "I love it! I thought it was just vandalism!"

"Vandalism, Turf War, same difference," Rocky shrugged.

"Oxymoron," Caurel and Ankyr shouted simultaneously.

"I know you are, but what am I?"

"Again, please use the right-hand exits," the voice repeated as the train came to a complete stop and the doors on the right-hand side of the car slid open. "The entrance to the viewing platform will then be straight ahead. If you wish to enter the lobby-"

"Come on," Penny said as she, Rocky, and Ecto jumped out of their seats. "Let's catch as much of this battle as we can!" They moved toward the nearest exit, followed by the rest of the group. Sure enough, there was a door straight ahead, which led to a stairwell. After a bit of stair-climbing, they arrived on the roof of the train station, where they could see the entire battle unfurl below.

"The cars are part of the experience, too?" Pyxis asked when they glanced down at the plaza the battle took place in. The train station, a hotel to the North, and a service reservoir and several buildings to the South boxed in a looping road, with the beach working as the fourth barrier.

"Yeah, the speed limit in the plaza is five kilometers," Caurel pointed out. "People like to drive by and have their cars inked, just for fun. It's busier some days than others."

"The're more stage over here," Ankyr said, waving Pyxis over to the Eastern side of the building, where they could see the other half of the plaza, which was a parking lot boxed in by three strips of shops and restaurants. Its Easternmost boundary was City Hall, and the entrance to the highway, which was considered out of bounds.

"This plaza is really nice," Pyxis nodded. "I like that they let us watch battles from the station's rooftop."

"Go lime-green team!" Penny shouted.

"Do you know someone on that team, Penny?"

"Nah, I just picked a color and ran with it," the young actor shrugged.

"Oh... Well, in that case, GO DARK BLUE TEAM!"

"I see how it is," she laughed.

"I thought I heard your voice!"

Pyxis turned their attention away from the battlefield and gasped when they saw two of their friends.

"Tandy! Ty! How are you guys?"

"Excellent, except we keep forgetting to give each other our details," Tyrone laughed. "Look us up on SplatNet, huh? I'm 'Cloak', Tandy's 'Dagger'."

"That's you guys?" Ankyr asked, jumping into the conversation. "So you're battling with us next!"

"Yep," Tandy grinned, giving Ankyr a high-five. "We'll be Tails, they'll be Sonic."

"Aw, you get to be on their team," Pyxis said, crossing their arms. "That's not fair."

"Hey, now that we're 'friended', we can do Friend Battles together anytime. I mean... Any time we're not busy with school."

"Or sleeping," Ty said. "I do a lot of that."

"Yeah!" Pyxis' bright smile returned. The four of us against... whoever!"

"Hey, I'll join up with my peeps in Feel Good Ink and take you guys on," Penny said. "They're one Inkling short these days, anyway."

"Oh yeah," Pyxis said, waving their arms in the air. "I can't believe I forgot! Squad, this is Tandy and Ty, two of the most terrific Turf War players."

"Are you pleased with yourself?" Penny asked with a laugh. "All that alliteration."

"Kinda, yeah," Pyxis laughed before their eyes went wide and they averted their attention to the plaza. "What was THAT?" One of the dark blue Inklings had stepped on a red and yellow panel, which sprung out of the ground and launched them up to the pizzeria's ceiling. There were boxes placed on each ceiling to mark the boundary line, but a narrow strip was left at the edge of each - not only to count as turf, but to allow a method of bypassing the super-tight bottleneck between the two halves of the plaza.

"Oh yeah, the springs," Ankyr nodded. The launching contraption had already started compressing itself back into the ground. "This and Puffer Plaza are the only two stages that really use them anymore, I think. They're not as popular as they used to be."

Unfortunately, it seemed the path ended abruptly afterward, being blocked by an out-of-place skyscraper, so one would have to drop down just past the bottleneck, which could prove dangerous.

"There's actually a tunnel," Rocky pointed out, "but you have to hit a switch on the other end of the walkway, kind of like the ones in Moonage Daydream. Then you have to swim back and jump in as fast as you can."

"Or you could just sit there and snipe everyone," Ecto suggested with a shrug. "That's what I like to do."

"I like to leave Ink Mines at the end of the tunnel, where the elevator opens up," Caurel cackled. "You can't walk past without getting splatted, and the elevator is too tiny to give you escape space."

"You are truly the more terrifying sibling," Caasi said. "Remind me never to get on your bad side."

"What's that section over there?" Pyxis asked, turning to the North. "It looks like it's accessible via the West section's hotel, but can the other side reach it, too?"

"Sure, the spring fires both ways," Penny said. "You just have to step on the right side. It'll launch you onto a passage on top of the burger shop. Then you can drop down into the entertainment area."

"There's a spring on the other side, too, though," Ecto said. "So the East team always has to watch its back."

"Yeah, just don't get distracted by the arcade games," Ankyr grinned.

"Speak for yourself," Rocky chuckled.

"I like arcade games, too," Pyxis said. "You guys probably have a lot of different ones than what I'm used to, though."

"Last thirty seconds," Ecto said after a glance at her watch. "I'm headed downstairs."

"Hey, wait up," Caurel said as she and Rocky followed after. Penny and the rest stayed to see the results of the battle - team lime green won by a landslide.

Once the battlers made it out of the station, they spread out to their respective spawn points, while Abbey, Caasi, and Moises remained on the rooftop to cheer them on from above. Ankyr, Caurel, Tandy, and Tyrone strolled down the street and through the Eastern half of the stage, to enter City Hall via its open doors. The yellow spawn point rested in the center of the lobby. Meanwhile, Pyxis followed Penny, Rocky, and Ecto into the hotel and through a side-exit that led to an in-ground pool surrounded by lounge chairs and umbrellas. The pool was currently covered by those same lightweight blocks that served as a barrier on the rooftops, and atop the blocks was the blue spawn point.

"I'm so glad we're on this side," Rocky said. "It's always harder to win if you're the East team."

"Why's that?" Pyxis asked. "There seems to be an equal amount of turf on each side."

"Yeah, but we have the station. And our alternate path doesn't require a switch. Plus, the cars don't park here. If a car is parked in the spot where the spring is on the East side, there's no way to get to the North section without going through the West team's turf. Honestly, Station Square isn't a very good stage-"

"Hey!" Penny and Ecto shouted.

"I'm just telling the truth! It gets really one-sided. Once you have the bottleneck, you have the game. Simple as that. Every now and then, the East side can take back control, but it's rare in this stage. It's just not balanced enough."

"Even so, we're still going to have to give it our all," Ecto reminded him. "Sunshine and Kobra aren't going to take it easy on us."

"And Tandy and Ty are like an unstoppable force," Pyxis nodded. "I've had them on my side a few times before, and I'm not too excited about going against them."

"Well, we'll just have to see what happens when an unstoppable force meets entropy," Rocky said, slamming his fist into his palm.

"I thought you were going to say 'an immovable object'," Pyxis laughed. "So, there's a spring on the arcade side?" They stared through the hotel lobby's open East-facing doors, which led to the entertainment area.

"Yep," Ecto nodded. "Thinking of a plan?"

"I'm thinking I've got four 'Swim Speed Up' and I'm ready to use them," Pyxis grinned, twirling their shooter. For this battle, they were trying out their newly-purchased N-Zap '89.

"Nah, I want you with me," Rocky shook his head. "I'm gonna roll my way to the bottleneck entrance, ink a little camp site at the corner, and let loose a million seekers."

"More like ten," Ecto chuckled.

"Ecto, can you get up to the roof of the burger shop?" Rocky continued.

"Of course I can," the tinkerer said, still laughing.

"No, I mean, do it, please? Penny, I want you to slosh the blue blazes out of our side, then move on to the North. If Ecto's still there, spring up and help her wreak havoc on the parking lot. If not, swim back and use the elevator."

"We'll just see what happens," Penny shrugged.

"Pyxis, after I use my Bomb Rush, I want you to swim through the streams they leave behind and throw a Sprinkler as far as you can, and swim like Mercury back this way. Then tackle the station. That should be easy, as long as the yellow team hasn't broken through to the stairs."

"What's the Sprinkler for? I mean I know what it does, but why throw one and split?"

"They'll be busy getting rid of it while I move in for the kill. By that time, everything else should be covered well enough, so I'll give a signal for everyone to converge on the East side and box them in. Easy peasy."

"Yeah, but..." Pyxis trailed off when the announcer instructed everyone to get to their stations. Rocky and Ecto made their way to the spawn point, while Penny patted their Octoling friend's back.

"Don't worry, my pet, we've done this routine a million times, there are only so many different outcomes."

"There's only two outcomes," Rocky said. "We win or we don't. Let's try for the former."

"Don't listen to him," Penny whispered. "He always thinks he's in Ranked. Just have fun, dear."

"That's the plan."

Both teams dove into their spawn pools, ensuring their ink tanks were full. When the starting announcement was made, they all rose from the ink and waited until... POW!

Ecto fired a long stream of blue ink from her charger and swam along it, repeating the process to reach the drop-off to the lower North area, where the stairs would normally be. She fired one more shot toward the spring and swam, leaping up from the ink and returning to humanoid form to descend on the spring, which launched her into the air. Unfortunately, Ty had already been waiting atop the burger shop's roof, and splatted her with his Splattershot Jr. while she was still in midair. He then went about covering the entertainment area with yellow ink.

Meanwhile, Pyxis had followed Rocky just as he had instructed; once he inked enough turf to unleash his special, they swam after the first Seeker he launched and hurled their Sprinkler into the parking lot. Unfortunately for them, Tandy had been waiting around the corner. Once they made their presence known, she threw her own sub weapon in their general direction, creating an explosion out of which several tiny yellow bits clung to the air around the Octoling, slowing down their speed, jump height, ink consumption and recovery. They did their best to swim away, but Tandy's Custom Splattershot Jr. did them in.

Pyxis respawned soon after Ecto, and saw her swimming back to the entertainment area, which was now mostly covered in yellow ink.

'She might need some help...' They glanced from the North area to the station, then back again, considering their options before finally swimming to the right. 'Well... Rocky knows the place better than I do. Might as well... Anyway, there's a staircase going that way in the station, so I can go help her after I take care of it.'

They popped out of the blue ink when they reached the station, and threw a Sprinkler onto the left staircase to the boarding area before inking the right-hand side of the ground floor with their main weapon. The next train pulled into the station just as they reached the loading station, and they made sure to fire ink at the top of every car before moving on. The stairs to the North area were already covered in blue ink, so they took the front exit and rejoined Rocky at the bottleneck.

"All good," they shouted before throwing another Sprinkler - this one destroyed immediately by splatling fire from Ankyr. Pyxis took the opportunity to splat him with the N-Zap, and Tandy - the only other yellow player still at the bottleneck - swam away as fast as she could.

"You got 'em on the run," Rocky cheered, sending out the "Booyah!" signal before swimming down the street and rolling into the yellow team's side. The entire blue team covered the parking lot, cars and all, in a matter of seconds. It was Ecto who first realized what was wrong.

"They're not here," she said, spinning around to face the North side. She was sure it didn't have a speck of yellow ink on it... except for one large spot on the wall, under the dropoff. "They hid on the wall!" There was now a thin stream of yellow ink winding to and fro amid the blue on the curving stairs into the train station. "Kobra..." She fired a charged shot at the blot on the wall, in case any others were hiding. Nothing. The others had to be somewhere else... "Double back, everyone!"

"Let's split up," Pyxis said, jumping on the parking lot's spring just as someone tried to turn into the space. The driver honked their horn, but they paid it no mind.

"Wait, Pyxis!" Rocky called, but they were already inking the rooftops, and soon swimming through the tunnel that passed through the skyscraper. "Alright then, Penny, come with me through the bottleneck. If they aren't running around over on our side, can you go check the hotel?"

"Sure thing," Penny said, giving him a quick salute before swimming through the ink back toward their side. The two of them resurfaced in the bottleneck to see that the yellow team had completely taken over the Western side.

"Oh sweet blue abyss," Rocky grumbled. "Penny, please tell me you've been saving an Inkstrike."

"I don't 'save' Inkstrikes," she laughed. "But I'm almost at full gauge again." She threw a Splat Bomb across the bottleneck, then swam down the road to refill her ink tank before jumping up, switching to human form, throwing one more toward the entrance to the train station, and diving back into the ink to swim away. As luck would have it, Caurel was still in the station, and emerged just enough to cover the bomb's blue ink with yellow. Rocky took the opportunity to bring his roller down on her, sending her back to the yellow spawn point. Ankyr then popped out of the ink behind one of the passing cars and unleashed splatling charge, splatting first Rocky, then Penny... but not before the latter sent off an Inkstrike, aimed right for the middle of the triangle-shaped medium. Ankyr swam as fast as he could, and got away from the Inkstrike... but didn't escape a barrage of blue ink from Pyxis, who had just exited the cylindrical elevator at the corner of the stage.

'One minute left,' the Octoling noted, breathing hard and fast. Now with a blue circle amid a field of pure yellow, they had only to recover the road and sidewalks of their team's side, which they made quick work of with their rapid-firing shooter. Ecto, who had already reclaimed the train station with several long charged shots of yellow, swam outside to help, while Rocky and Penny respawned. Once their turf was blue again, all four moved as one toward the bottleneck, and then...

SPLAT!

All four of them were taken down at once from above- Tandy and Ty had been stationed on the rooftop path, right in front of the tunnel entrance. As the entire blue team floated back to the spawn point, they could see that Caurel and Ankyr had been hard at work reclaiming the East side.

"Thirty seconds, guys!" Ankyr shouted as Tandy and Ty dropped down to the street. He covered the sparse amounts of blue still remaining in the parking lot before bouncing on the spring with Tyrone, and the two of them inked the North area from above as fast as they could. Tandy and Caurel took the bottleneck, turning blue to yellow in no time flat, but the blue team rushed out of the hotel to meet them in battle. Caurel activated her special - the Bubbler - and shared it with Tandy. The two protected Inklings boldly attacked the blue team, who all ran for it for the time being. Ecto fired a long stream of blue ink that reached into the mouth of the train station, and she and the other three swam along it to take refuge inside. Much to their disappointment, Ty and Ankyr emerged from the stairs and pressed the attack, now sharing Tyrone's own Bubbler special.

Once the girls' Bubblers timed out, Pyxis splatted Tandy and they, Penny, and Ecto fled from the station, chased by Caurel. Rocky evaded Ty and Ankyr as long as he could, pushing his roller upstairs, then jumping back to the ground floor when they followed him. He made a swift exit, just to be splatted by his twin sister's Ink Mine.

Ankyr and Ty covered whatever blue remained in the station before splitting up, Ty using the front exit and Ankyr taking the curving stairs. Rocky soon respawned and gave Ty a roadside battle for a moment before time ran out and the whistle blew.

Pyxis, Ecto, and Penny had done what they could to reclaim the bottleneck and the East side, but Caurel had followed them with her brush every step of the way. Meanwhile the North and West, including the station, were almost entirely yellow. The yellow team won 82.70 percent to 14.50 percent.

\/\/\/\/\/

"I've never been beaten that badly before," Pyxis said, gulping down the entirety of their soda before walking to the counter for another. The battlers and their friends and fans had all piled into the burger shop after the battle, making it a very cramped space.

"You've never been beaten before at all," Penny laughed, "what are you talking about?" Pyxis gave her a side-eyed glare, but carried on getting their refill.

"That was definitely an intense battle," Ecto said. "Jet-Star, what was that you were saying about owning the bottleneck?"

"Shut up," the male Inkling panted, letting out a short laugh despite himself.

"So, what's the sentimental value to Station Square?" Pyxis asked when they returned to take their seat between Ankyr and Tandy.

"Ah, story time, story time!" Penny drummed her palms on the table.

"So, about four years ago," Caurel began, "I was shopping here with Penny. I mean, not here-here, but in Station Square's shops."

"Caurel was inside 'Modern Life' while I stayed outside to get some fresh air," Penny picked the story up. "That shop's not here anymore, they moved, the traitors! Anyway... Some random Jellyfish came up to me..." Here she poked her right elbow into Moises' gelatinous body. "And was like 'I love your shirt!' - I was wearing a Bare Your Reef shirt. I used to be into them. Anyway-"

"'Used to be', Caasi scoffed. "You still have their records in your apartment."

"Who's Bare Your Reef?" Pyxis asked with a short laugh.

"Oh, a Classic Rock band from like before our parents were born. Well, maybe not the professor, he's kinda old. Anyway, Moises was like 'I love your shirt! Let's start a band!'" Here everyone laughed, and Moises rubbed the back of his head.

"It's true," he shrugged.

"So I said 'I don't know how to play any instruments.' And he said..."

"'That's okay, you can be the good-looking lead singer!'" Moises recited. "Or something like that."

"Nah, that was exactly it," Penny nodded. "I remember because that was when I punched you."

"You _punched him?"_ Pyxis asked, wide-eyed.

"Yep," Moises laughed. "And you said 'I don't sing, neither', just like that."

"Her grammar was even worse in those days," Caurel winked.

"Shut it, Cricket," Penny said, sticking out her tongue at her best friend, who was sitting on the opposite side of the booth. "So then Moises, never one to give up, said 'Okay then, let's start a squad instead! What weapons do you use? Do you have any friends who battle?' And after a lot of back and forth, we eventually brought Ecto and Caurel into the mix. Moises brought Ecto, I mean. That was the day we met those two. Then we introduced them to everyone else, picked out names for ourselves, and the rest is history."

"So if it wasn't for Station Square, you guys would have never met?" Pyxis asked. Penny nodded.

"Ecto and Moises go to a different school than the rest of us. They live uptown. Or, they used to. Ecto's dads moved closer to us. And when Moises graduated last year, he got a midtown apartment."

"Just to be closer to my homies," Moises said.

"Aww!" The group moved and stretched as one to collectively give him a hug.

"So, why do you...?" Pyxis cut their next question short when they saw a familiar adult Inkling walking into the restaurant, holding a large mail parcel in both hands. They waved him over excitedly. "Hey! Mr. Waters! It's nice to see you again!"

"Thank you, dear," the adult smiled, making his way through the crowd to the table. "How have you all been? It's been a while since I've had the pleasant sound of a whole flock of young adults in my house."

"We're a flock," Moises said happily. "I wish I could fly."

"Well, we are birds of a feather," Ecto laughed.

"We've been prepping for mid-terms," Ankyr explained to Mr. Waters. "Penny's got two jobs now. And Caasi and Moises are just..."

"Listless," Moises cheered, raising his plastic cup of soda in Pyxis' direction before gulping it down. Pyxis couldn't help but smile, ecstatic that all the nicknames they'd given were loved by their recipients.

"Excuse you, I have a job," Caasi said.

"Is it really considered a job when you run your own business?" Moises asked.

"Yes, because I don't have people working for me," the Crayfish scoffed.

"Who are your new friends?" Mr. Waters asked. "These guys have never been over."

"Cloak and Dagger," Rocky said. "Our newest battle friends. And maybe potentially squadmates...?" He asked hopefully.

"Sorry, we're in a squad already," Tandy shook her head. "The Runaways. You've probably never heard of us, though, because we never get time to battle together. It's usually just me and Ty. But when Summer break comes..."

"I'll cheers to that," Rocky said, downing the rest of his pink lemonade.

"It's nice to meet you, sir," Ty said, shaking the adult Inkling's hand once he set down the package.

"What's that, dad?" Caurel asked.

"I think I'll let Rocky do the honors," Mr. Waters said, pushing the parcel across the table. "He's been waiting for this longer than anyone."

"Oh!" Penny exclaimed. "Is that...?"

Rocky carefully tore open the parcel and pulled out an issue of "Ink Weekly" magazine with a photo of himself, Caurel, Penny, Ecto, Ankyr, and Moises on the front cover.

"It is! Killjoys, I present to you our media debut!" Everyone cheered, Tandy and Ty applauding.

"I'm so proud of you guys," Tandy cheered.

"I remember when we were in a magazine," Ty said. "It was so long ago..."

"Don't talk like an old man," his partner laughed.

Rocky opened the magazine and checked the contents before flipping excitedly to the cover feature to read out loud. "'Squad of the Week: The Fabulous Killjoys are truly a sight to behold on the battlefield. They've been in our queue-to-call for a while now, and it's a pleasure to finally have them on board. Here's the low-down...' And then it has their usual 'squad block'." Rocky slid the magazine to the center of the table for everyone to see before reading his own small blurb aloud.

"'Rocky Waters, aka Jet-Star. 17, M, Squad captain. Main: Carbon Roller Deco. Fav. Weapon Type: Rollers! Everything else is meh. Least Fav.: Sloshers, brushes, chargers. Fav. Stage: Walleye Warehouse, Urchin Underpass, Station Square'."

"Aw, you do really love this stage," Pyxis said with a wink.

"Shut it, Velocity," Rocky said with a wink.

"Velocity?" Ankyr echoed, glancing from Rocky to Pyxis and back.

"Like from that 'Planetary' song?" Pyxis beamed.

"You like it?"

"I love it!"

"'Least Fav.: Blackbelly Skatepark, Arowana Mall'," Rocky continued. 'Fav. Brand: Whichever decides to sponsor me'." Mr. Waters laughed at this.

"Nice marketing strategy, son." Rocky shrugged.

"'Fav. Game: Anything Ranked. Powerhouse type: Rocky focuses on splatting opponents, inking as much as possible on the way and never bothering about the details'."

"Sounds like Jet-Star," Penny said before reading the next box. "'Penny Lane, aka Party Poison. 19, F, co-founder of the squad. Main: Slosher. Fav. Weapon Type: Whatever works. Least Fav.: Chargers and Splatlings. Fav. Stage: Station Square, Blackbelly Skatepark, Moonage Daydream. Least Fav.: I can rock anything, as long as I've got my squad!' I really said that, huh?" Everyone laughed as she blushed blue.

"It's sweet," Caurel said. "I like it."

"'Fav. Brand: Whatever I'm wearing at any given moment! Fav. Game: Turf War for the win. Glass Cannon type: Penny generally sacrifices defense for devastating attack power. While her teammates are duking it out on the front lines, she'll bring down the rain of pain from the back row. Make sure to check out Penny's performance in the upcoming movie, _Town With No Name,_ next month!' I definitely didn't write that! Thank you, 'Ink Weekly'!"

"Publicity," Moises cheered.

"Yes, publicity I need if I'm gonna land any other gigs! Cricket, you're next." She flipped the magazine so it could be better read by those on the other side of the table.

"'Caurel Waters'," the bespectacled Inkling read, "'aka Kobra Kid. 17, F, the glue that holds the team together'. Aww... Who told them to put that in there?" Pyxis, Ankyr, Rocky, Ecto, Moises, and Caasi all raised their hands, and Caurel blushed yellow before clearing her throat and continuing. "'Main: Inkbrush Noveau. Fav. Weapon Type: Brushes, shooters. Least Fav.: Chargers, splatlings. Fav. Stage: Urchin Underpass, Moonage Daydream, Station Square. Least Fav.: I don't dislike any stages. Fav. Brand: I love Firefin's shirts!' Oh, and there's a heart symbol because I asked them to put it in there," she laughed. "'Fav. Game: Turf War. Ninja Squid type: Caurel is an expert at hiding and sneaking around. She'll pop out of the ink to splat you when you least expect it. That is, if her strategically placed Ink Mines don't get you first.' It's true," she nodded.

"Well, it was nice to see you kids," Mr. Waters said. "I'd love to hang out more, but I should get back home and start up dinner. Have fun, enjoy the magazine, and behave yourselves."

"Always, Mr. Waters," Pyxis smiled.

"Bye, Dad," most of the group waved as the adult Inkling exited the burger shop.

"Ecto, you're up." Caurel pushed the magazine closer to the inventor.

"'Ecto Plasma, aka Fun Ghoul. 18, F, brains of the outfit'. Well, I wouldn't say that... 'Main: Kelp Splatterscope and Kelp Splat Charger. Fav. Weapon Type: Everything. Fav. Stage: Blackbelly Skatepark, Arowana Mall, Station Square. Least Fav.: Moonage Daydream, Walleye Warehouse, Puffer Plaza. Fav. Brand: SquidForce and Zekko. Fav. Game: Turf War, Tower Control. Sniper type: Ecto knows all the best camping sites in each stage, and her aim is superb. She'll splat you out of nowhere and you won't even know what's going on.'

"You read so monotonously," Moises said as Ecto passed the magazine to Ankyr.

"Bite me, I'm tired."

"I can't, I don't exactly have a mouth in the traditional sense."

"'Ankyr Moreta, aka Sunshine'," Ankyr read. "'18, M, Support and morale.' Well, it's not wrong. 'Main: Heavy Splatling Remix. Fav. Weapon Type: Splatlings, rollers. Least Fav.: Sloshers, anything with a scope. Fav. Stage: Moonage Daydream, Station Square, Bluefin Depot'. Hah, they put my 'Hometown shout-out' in parentheses!"

"We lost it," Rocky spoke up. Everyone stared at him. "We lost Puffer Plaza, too. But then again, that one was probably a corporate decision rather than an environmental one."

"So now there are only seven left?" Penny asked.

"Eight," Ecto said. "Walleye Warehouse, Saltspray Rig, Urchin Underpass, Station Square, Arowana Mall, Blackbelly Skatepark, Moonage Daydream, and Great White Park."

"Oh yeah, I always forget about the park," the actor nodded. "I feel like it's never available except when I'm at work."

"And when we're in school," Caurel nodded.

"It's okay," Ecto said, "Summer break starts next month."

"One more month," Rocky breathed weakly, as if he were dying of thirst without a single drop of water around.

"Guys, let's let Pyxis read their blurb," Ankyr said, sliding the magazine toward the Octoling.

"Well... I still remember what I texted Rocky when he blew up my phone," Pyxis shrugged. "But I guess it's still really awesome to see yourself mentioned in media."

"Go ahead," Moises nodded.

"Let's see... Pyxis Arcturo, aka... Velocity'." They smiled at Rocky before continuing. "20, NB... Fierce warrior deity'?" They looked up from the magazine again. "Who told them to say that?" Penny and Rocky raised their hands, followed slowly by Ecto, who let out a nervous chuckle.

"I guess it's not a big deal," they said, blushing yellow. Their wide smile faded when they heard a familiar voice, carrying its usual hint of arrogant derision.

"So, the Killjoys finally got picked up by the press?"

"Hello, Ziggy," most of the group said in the usual tired tone, while Pyxis simply spun around to stare at him, hoping in vain that he'd somehow turn and flee just from their gaze.

"Of course, 'Ink Weakly' doesn't really give you a lot of space. Just a few quick bios, eh?"

"It's enough for me," Caurel said, lacing her fingers together. "I don't need a lot of attention. Besides, we didn't do it for fame, we just wanted to give our small fanbase something special."

"'Small fanbase'?" Ziggy chortled. "Well, honey, you said it, not me."

"Don't try to reason with him, sis," Rocky said, staring at the table as if to ignore Ziggy's existence. "He doesn't understand things like loyalty or-"

"Loyalty?" The tattooed Inkling threw his head back and laughed before returning his attention to Rocky with a cold stare. "I don't want to hear words like that from you."

"Ziggy, be nice," Caurel said.

"Anyway, it's not like you could get featured by 'Splat!' or anyone else important," Ziggy said, now gazing through the window and peeling at his red nail polish with his thumb to appear nonchalant. "But I'm happy for your tiny victory. Bravo, bravo."

"You think you're better than us because you get into bigger-budget magazines?" Caasi asked, her whiskers moving upward in a dubious gesture. "If my eyes were in my head, I'd roll them."

"I think I'm better than you because I _play_ better than you," Ziggy said, resting his attention on the Crayfish. "Rather, I play better than the team you root for. This is battler's talk, honey, why don't you go jump in a saucepan with some butter?"

Upon hearing this, Pyxis jumped up from their seat, prepared to lunge at him, but Penny and Ankyr got up and pulled them back down.

"ZIGGY!" Caurel shouted. "Be nice. Please."

"Only for you," Ziggy sighed, backing away from the booth and readjusting the collar of his denim jacket. "Anyway, I've been wanting to put your little group in its place for a while now. Why don't we battle it out in Turf War?"

"I'd love to have an excuse to rearrange your face," Pyxis said, attempting to jump up once more, but their friends' hold on their arms was secure.

"Save it for the battlefield, honey," Penny said in the best soothing voice she could conjure.

"Or better yet, if we really want to decide who's the best..."

"What?" Rocky asked. "A triathlon? Tug of war? Mahjong?"

"Why not a tournament? Every squad can compete! Anyone who believes they're the best!"

"That's dumb," Ankyr said.

"We don't have anything to prove," Caurel added.

"No, I actually like this idea," Rocky said.

"What?" Ankyr stared at his male best friend. "Why?"

"It would be a lot of fun. Besides, we could meet great battlers a lot easier if we're all fighting in the same tournament. And make more fans!"

"Ridiculous," his sister sighed.

"I think we should do it," Ecto said.

"Ecto, you too?!"

"Think about it. If every squad is allowed to join, there's unlimited potential to who could be the winner. There's no telling what kind of great talents we might discover. Do you have any idea how much data that would give me to work on new weapons and strategies?"

"We should've known," Pyxis laughed. "Pretty Relentless, I fully support your creative mind and its endless pursuit of inspiration for your masterpieces."

"Aww, shucks."

"But I don't support the idea of making a big deal out of this just because you have a fragile ego." Here they glared at Ziggy, who crossed his arms, his eye twitching.

"Well said," Penny nodded. When the liquid muscles within Pyxis' arms had released their tension, she had released the Octoling in favor of wrapping her arms around her girlfriend, who refused to say anything else at this point. Meanwhile, Pyxis was holding tightly to Ankyr's hand. "But I guess I wouldn't mind being in a tournament. As long as we can all make it."

"We'll start it after the semester ends," Ziggy said after clearing his throat. "Then all we have to worry about is your day job."

"And my night job," Penny winked.

"So we seem to be tied," Rocky said. "Three of us want it, and three are opposed. Caasi...?" The Crayfish kept her gaze fixed on her girlfriend, saying nothing. "Moises...?"

"Well, I don't want to dismiss the feelings of any of my friends," Moises said. "But I'm also the squad's manager. I have to think like one in times like this. So, how about this... Pyxis?" The Octoling turned around to give him their attention. "If I vote yes, can we still be friends?"

"Of course," Pyxis laughed. "What a silly thing to lose a friend over. I understand your reasoning, Pretty Listless."

"Ankyr?"

"We're bros, bro," Ankyr laughed, giving the Jellyfish a wink. "You can't get rid of me that easily."

"Caurel?"

"I'll always be your friend," Caurel sighed. "Do what you must."

"Then it's time for the second question," Moises said. "Even though you all think it's a stupid idea, will you still battle if we enter this tournament?" The three glanced at each other.

"I can't let Jet-Star battle without Kobra Kid," Caurel shrugged.

"I'll battle if they need a back-up," Ankyr nodded.

"Like I said, I've been wanting an excuse to wreck this scrub," Pyxis said.

"I guess it's official, then," Moises said with a slow nod. "Ziggy, have your manager get with me. I'll help plan it out."

"Sure," Ziggy grinned. "Make sure you notify all your followers. We'll hold a single-elimination Turf War tournament open to all squads."

"Double elimination," Pyxis said. "It wouldn't be fair for a team to get completely knocked out of the game in the first round."

"Okay then," the tattoed Inkling said, rolling his eyes. "We'll have a preliminary round on the first day of Summer break. All the losing teams will drop down to the losers' bracket-"

"Call it something other than that," Pyxis said. "Losing one battle doesn't make anyone a loser. It's Turf War. They last three minutes and there are far too many factors to make it a sure thing."

"Spoken like a C-ranker," Ziggy scoffed.

"We really can just settle this right here if you want," the Octoling said, glaring at him once again as their grip on Ankyr's hand tightened.

"Wouldn't dream of it," he laughed. "Don't want to ruin the suspense."

\/\/\/\/\/

Moises, along with the Spiders From Mars manager Lady Stardust, had the whole event almost fully planned within the week - barring exactly how many squads would actually be playing, which was still up in the air, though there was no shortage of young Inklings and Octolings signing up for the event once it was announced on the internet. Cephalopods from anywhere between fourteen to their late twenties were aiming for the top. Pyxis told themself they shouldn't regret their decision to go along with the madness, but they definitely needed to take their mind away from it.

[12:39]Velocity: Hey, who wants to go swimming?

[12:39]PartyPoisn: Meee!

[12:40]PartyPoisn: Oh noooo I have plans!

[12:40]PartyPoisn: I'm so sad. :((

[12:40]Velocity: Aww. D:

[12:42]PartyPoisn: Caasi says she might swing by for a dip, though.

[12:42]Velocity: Yaaay! :D

[12:47]Jet-Star: I can't swim owo

[12:47]Jet-Star: Most squids can't swim, yo.

[12:48]Jet-Star: Water is OoB in Turf War anyway so what's the point?

[12:48]PartyPoisn: There are other sports than Turf War.

[12:48]Jet-Star: LIES!

[12:50]KobraKid™: We have family business today anyway.

[12:51]Sunshine: I'm down to swim! What time? Do you want to go to Mahi-Mahi?

[12:51]Velocity: Yaaay!

[12:52]Fun Ghoul: Getting some much needed work done in the shop, sorry.

[12:52]Velocity: Whenever you can! :D Sure, I've never been but I'm down to swim anywhere.

[12:52]Velocity: Woo! Can't wait to see what magic you whip up, Ecto!

[12:52]Fun Ghoul: :D TYTYTY

[12:53]Sunshine: I'll meet you at the bay soon. Anyone else want to tag along?

[12:55]DrDthDfyng: You're going to Mahi-Mahi? I am SO THERE! Like, literally, I'm a few blocks away from it! I'll wait for you guys in the first pool.

[12:55]Velocity: Yay, we got a Moises! 3

[12:56]Sunshine: Woot! I knew he couldn't resist the call of waterparks.

[12:56]PartyPoisn: Isn't that a band?

[12:56]KobraKid™: Not from this era.

[12:58]Velocity: What about Rory and Abbey?

[12:59]KobraKid™: Family business for Rory. And Abbey's working today.

[12:59]Jet-Star: Abbey's working every day. x_x

[13:00]PartyPoisn: You know where we work!

[13:01]Jet-Star: Yeah, but if I just keep going there all the time it's creepy!

[13:01]PartyPoisn: You're creepy regardless!

[13:01]Jet-Star: FIGHT ME!

[13:02]PartyPoisn: I WILL, BRAH!

[13:02]Jet-Star: YOU'RE GOING DOWN!

[13:02]Velocity: So, Ankyr, see you at Skipjack Bay? :D

[13:03]Sunshine: On my way!

[13:03]PartyPoisn: Have fun, guys!

[13:03]PartyPoisn: NOT IF I DROPKICK YOU FIRST!

[13:03]Jet-Star: I'D LIKE TO SEE YOU TRY!

\/\/\/\/\/

"Do you come here often?"

"Only once so far," Ankyr said as the two exchanged money with the clerk. "It's a long way from the house, but not so much from Skipjack."

The two had just recently arrived at Mahi-Mahi Resort, Inkopolis' freshest new summer getaway, which had only recently been completed and opened for business.

"Oh yeah, we gotta put all our stuff in one of these boxes," Ankyr said, shoving his outer clothes into an open locker.

"Sure thing," they said, following Ankyr's example. When they closed the locker door, a key popped out of a tiny slot. "Oh, cool!"

"You give that to the attendant. Oh yeah, can't forget this." He began taking off the black mask on his face.

"AAAAHH!"

"AAH! What? What's wrong?" Ankyr looked around, the little bit of the mask he had removed flopping around from side to side.

"That... Thing? That's a mask?! I thought it was part of your face!"

"Oh no, it's just a squideye," he said, peeling the black mask the rest of the way off of his face, leaving behind a smooth, untextured area of skin around his eyes. "See?" He held out the mask, and they took it hesitantly.

"Wow, you look... different. You look more like your mom, actually."

"Yeah, Inklings our age usually keep them on. They're not great with water, though."

"What is it for?"

"It helps keep ink out of your eyes, and pushes it out faster when you revert to your two-legged form. Saves a few seconds in a battle. But, in a three-minute battle..."

"Every second counts," Pyxis finished, nodding. "Definitely. Can I get one?"

"You didn't already get one in the mail? They should've sent you a starter one for free when you joined SplatNet."

"Hm... Maybe it got delayed."

"We should check on that."

"Let's just swim first," they said, placing the squideye in the locker.

"Sure thing," Ankyr said, closing the door and taking his own key. The two handed the keys over to the clerk, and headed into the pool area.

"Oh hey, I think I can see Blackbelly Skatepark from here! I wonder who's battling."

"Always got battling on the mind," Moises said as he approached, waving his tentacles at the two.

"Moises!" Ankyr greeted the Jellyfish with a hug.

"Of course," Pyxis winked. "Hey, I thought Caasi was joining us too?"

"Nah, she has unforeseen affairs."

"Molting?" Ankyr asked.

"Yeah. She'll be back on her feet in a few days."

"Huh," Pyxis thought out loud. "I wonder what it's like to have a skeleton."

"Sounds like too much of a hassle, if you ask me," Moises said. "So anyway, water!"

The Jellyfish dove into the nearest pool, and his mollusc friends followed suit soon enough. They splashed around wildly for a while, before relaxing and floating about calmly.

"So, how are you guys feeling about this tournament business?"

"Uuugh," Pyxis groaned from where they were floating on their back. "Do we _have_ to talk about that? Can't we just relax?" Without waiting for an answer, they dove to the bottom of the pool.

"Same," Ankyr said with a hissing laugh, though he remained on the surface, treading water.

"I'm just saying, it's a lot to think about," Moises shrugged. "No one's tried a huge tournament like this for a long time. It's bound to get us publicity, especially considering we're the reason."

"Hey, we are _not_ the reason, man. The only reason is Ziggy. And his dumb inferiority complex."

"Oh, so it's because of you, then," Moises cackled.

"Don't even go there." Ankyr shifted from treading water to floating on his back. Suddenly, he felt something tickling the back of his neck, and flailed around in surprise, losing his balance and splashing before righting himself.

"Sorry," Pyxis laughed upon surfacing. "I just couldn't resist. Next time I'll ask first, I promise. Please don't be mad."

"All forgiven, bestie," he laughed once he was treading water with confidence again. "But yeah, definitely warn me next time. Maybe not immediately before, but it's less jarring if I know it's coming at some point."

"Sure thing! So, what were you guys talking about?"

"That it's all Ankyr's fault," Moises cackled again.

"What is?"

"Nothing," Ankyr shook his head. "Moises is one shrimp short of a picnic."

"That's a tragedy," Moises said. "Then again, I'm a vegetarian, so I'll get over it."

When the trio had enjoyed the water to their fill, they retrieved their belongings and set about to lounge on the lawn outside.

"We should do this more often," Pyxis said, flopping down on the grass and unzipping their bag. "I feel so much better."

"Nothing like a good swim to renew yourself," Moises agreed. "What's been eating you, bro?"

"Ah, just the usual," they laughed. "Seriously, though, I'm not sure if I can stand taking part in this stupid tournament. You guys should've just let me punch him in the face. Just one time."

"That's now how we do things here," Moises shook his head. "If you have a problem with someone else, you challenge them to a Turf War. That way you can let out all that angry energy with fast movement."

"And lots of yelling," Ankyr added.

"And nothing gets violent," Moises continued. "Well, not too violent. I'm not gonna say violence is never the answer, but it's definitely the last thing anyone wants to resort to."

"I like that idea," Pyxis nodded. "The more time I spend here, and the more I learn about Inkopolis, the more it sounds like a utopia."

"Nah," Ankyr shook his head. "Utopias are fictional. Usually not well-thought-out or sustainable. This city got as far as it did by lots of generations of people caring about people and making important changes. It's not perfect, but it's better than it was. And that's the important thing. To always work toward being better."

"Yeah," the Octoling smiled. "That's how it should be."

"Yep," Ankyr sighed happily, laying on his back on the grass with his head resting in his palms. His friends followed suit.

"Yeppers," Moises agreed. The three lay in content silence for a while, listening to the birds chirping nearby and the sounds of splashing and laughter from the pools.

"I still wanna punch him, though," Pyxis said. Ankyr and Moises couldn't help but laugh, and the contagious laughter spread to their Octoling friend, who had to wipe tears of mirth from their eyes.

\/\/\/\/\/

"Hey babe, I'm back! And I got you a surprise."

"Unless it's caffeine, I don't want it," Caasi said, her submerged voice reverberating all around her.

"I think you'll be proven wrong," Penny said in a sing-song voice, closing and locking her girlfriend's front door and dropping her bag next to her kicked-off shoes. Caasi was lying on her side in a large water tank that took up half of the living room. "Oh yeah, price of postage went down a little, so I just sent an extra charm to your customers. I'll pay you back."

"Did you send any specific ones?"

"Just the standard gold stars," she shook her head.

"Good girl. I should hire you on full-time. Er... Part-time."

"No, thanks," she laughed as she dragged Caasi's televison, coffee table and all, toward the transparent tank.

"What are we watching?"

"You'll see!" Penny slid a disc into the "hardware" slot on the contraption. After a few seconds, a colorful display appeared on the screen, accompanied by a loud and cheerful theme song.

"Oh gods!" Caasi gasped, wriggling her partially-molted limbs. "I love you!"

"Your favorite when you were a kid, right?" Penny asked with a wide smile. Caasi was too busy singing along to the song to reply.

_"We'll always be together,_   
_as long as we remember the secret of the staaaars!"_

"I'm so glad you're happy," Penny said, holding her hand against the tank.

"Me too, press play, press play!"

"Babe! I'm trying to have a soft moment with you."

"I'm sorry, Penny," Caasi said. "You really are the best girlfriend. Better than I deserve. You're the apple of my eye. The queen of my colony. The shrimp in my salad."

"You're just saying things now, so I no longer believe you," Penny said jokingly, sticking out her tongue.

"No, for real, I adore you. Thank you so much. I'd hug you if I could, but I'm kind of submerged."

"That's not a problem, if I get in there with you."

"And now you've made it weird."

"I see how it is," Penny laughed, pressing "PLAY". "You know, I could-"

"Shh, shh, Star Seekers is on!"

"I love you," she laughed, scooting back to lean against the glass.

_"The wonder of the universe, the secret of the stars..."_ Penny sang along for a while before returning her attention to her girlfriend.

"Psst, I love you, too."

"Thank you, babe."

"This isn't so bad, having someone here while I go through this stupidity. Let's do this again next time." Penny gasped at this and turned back around.

"You mean it?"

"Yeah... Why not? As long as it's you, I'll feel safe and won't hide behind a rock the whole time."

"That's... probably the sweetest thing you've ever said to me? I think?"

"It's the sweetest thing a Crayfish can say to someone, I guess. In regards to being a Crayfish."

"Yes. Let's do it."

_"Let's fall in love,"_ Caasi sang on cue.

_"Romantic sponges, they say, do it,"_ Penny joined in with a smile. _"Oysters down in Oyster Bay do it."_

"That's true, I've seen them," Caasi said, her girlfriend shushing her immediately.

_"Let's do it - let's fall in love~"_

"Okay, now rewind the tape," the Crayfish pleaded. Penny laughed.

"As you wish."

_"The wonder of the universe, the secret of the stars..."_


	7. Think Happy Thoughts

**7\. Think Happy Thoughts**

"'Come to this address as fast as you can'," Pyxis panted, leaning over and resting their hand on their knee as they tried to catch their breath. "That's what Caurel said in our private messages, but... Who do we know who lives in such a place?"

They were standing outside a fenced-in estate that was at least three times the size of Pyxis' family's church. Soon, the gilded front gate opened, and the Octoling was free to walk up the wide driveway lined with trees and shrubbery. They had seen countless places like it on television, but had never considered the prospect of something so cliche existing in real life. It was a serene scene... until they caught the distant sound of Rocky yelling louder than they'd ever heard him yell - which was saying something. 

"Well... Guess I'd better hurry."

After making their way quickly down the driveway and up the marble stairs, they were met with a view of their friends gathered around a luxurious sofa - some of them crying, some of them drowning their weariness in expensive coffee. And right in the center, Rocky screaming directly into Rory's face. 

"-EVERY SINGLE TIME! Not just us, but our parents, Ankyr's mom, Moises' aunts, they ALL invite you to things! They ALL ask about you! But any time you show up, you never tell us these things! HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO HELP IF YOU NEVER TELL ME WHAT'S WRONG?"  
"Rocky, that's enough," Caasi said, trying to pull him away with her pincers. He yanked his arm out of her grasp, tearing the sleeve of his shirt in the process, and continued his tirade.

"Did you know about this, Caasi? Did ANY OF YOU KNOW? Caurel?" His sister simply shook her head, keeping her attention on soothing Rory, who was in tears. "DON'T LIE TO ME! PENNY? MOISES? PYXIS? Pyxis, I'm so glad you're here."

"What's going on?"

"PYXIS DIDN'T EVEN KNOW! You see? NOBODY had a clue how you felt! How could we? None of us ever tried to make you feel like we didn't want you around. That's your problem! You just ASSUME things! You ASSUME how other people feel! You ASSUME it's okay to cling to me all the time even though I've already told you I don't like it! You ASSUME people know how you feel when you disappear for months without saying anything, and come back and still say NOTHING! You ASSUME you can just talk to people however you want!"

"Look who's talking," Caurel said, finally resting her eyes on her twin. "What gives you the right to talk to her like that?"

"I'VE GOT PLENTY RIGHT-"

"Again, I ask," Pyxis said, loud enough to cut Rocky off. "What's going on here?"

"This DAMN IDIOT," Rocky began, pointing an accusatory finger at Rory's face, "tried to KILL HERSELF!"

"She already said that's not why she did it," Caurel said. "Won't you calm down and listen to her?"

"Why, then? Why, Rory? WHO DRIVES THEIR CAR INTO THE GREAT TOKYO REEF, EXPECTING ANYTHING BUT TO DROWN? HUH? ANSWER ME!" It was at this time that an adult Anemone entered the room, wearing black slacks and a cream-colored vest that was showing signs of sweating through. It was only when he had come through a beautifully carved white door with a golden handle, that Pyxis could hear the voices of other people, shouting and sobbing. They surmised that this man must be Rory's father, and the other voices were relations of hers as well.

"I think it's time for you to leave," the adult said as assertively as he could muster in his weary state. 

"THE HELL I WILL," Rocky said, shaking the man's hand off of his shoulder. "I've got bones to pick with you, too, so you might as well sit down!"

"Rocky, stop!" Caurel shouted. "Mom and Dad will be mad when they find out you swore at an adult!"

"Let them get mad! At least at the end of the day I know they won't treat us like THESE PEOPLE treat Rory!"

"I beg your pardon-"

"You heard me! This twenty-year-plan chowder has to GO. You are driving your daughter into the ground! She's just too afraid to say so. Afraid and obedient. Just the way you wanted her, right, pops?"

"I've heard enough," the adult Anemone said, pointing to the door. "If you don't leave, I'll have you arrested."

"You guys should go," Pyxis agreed, stepping in to offer Rory their hand. "I'll take it from here."

"I'm sorry, but who sent for you?" the man asked. "I've never seen you before. If you work for an agency, I want to see some certifications, or I'll have you carried out in handcuffs as well!"

"I'm a friend," the Octoling said. "Not a very good one, sometimes. But I do what I need to do. And right now, I need to talk to your daughter. Or rather, she needs to talk to someone who's walked the road she's on, and at least has some faint idea of what to say. With all due respect... can you give her that right now?"

"I... I don't feel right trusting my daughter with-"

"You can trust them," said the entire Killjoys squad simultaneously - all but Rocky, who had moved over to the wall to let out his tears in silence, and Rory, who took Pyxis' hand.

"You can, Dad," the neon-haired Anemone finally spoke up as she rose from the couch, patting Caurel's hand as the Inkling let go of her. "I'll be back. I promise."

"So, where can we walk and talk?" Pyxis asked as the two stepped outside, leaving their friends to talk among themselves in the living room. 

"The promenade is fine," Rory replied, gesturing to the very broad walkway that encircled the estate. 

"Promenade?" the Octoling echoed. "What is this place, a castle?"

"It used to be," she said with a bored sigh. Then, as if reciting something she'd heard too many times, "This was one of the few objects in the area that wasn't completely destroyed in the era of the old humans. Our ancestors found it and rebuilt it to their liking, and here it's stood for the past two thousand years. I know, impressive, isn't it?"

"But that's not how you feel about it?"

"Huh? I mean... I don't know. I don't really care. I'm proud of my family and everything, of course I am. I love them, and... And they love me..." Pyxis nodded, not saying anything just yet, though they definitely felt the urge to help her along. "H... How does your family feel about you, Pyxis? How do they treat you?"

"My blood family? Well, I only really have my mom. There are grandparents and great-aunts and whatnot, but I only see them on holidays. My mom... She loves me in her own way."

"What do you mean?" Rory asked. 

"Well... I've never told anyone this, but I've been thinking for a long time that my mom loves me more for her, than for me. If that makes any sense."

"I think I know what you mean," the Anemone nodded. 

"I think a lot of parents are like that. They don't think of their child as a life, with their own individuality, wants, thoughts, feelings... At least, not first and foremost. Instead they think of them as theirs, as a part of them, as..."

"As their property." They both stopped walking, and Pyxis turned in Rory's direction. 

"Y... Yeah... I guess." Suddenly, they found themself running through interactions with their mother that they could remember, re-examining anything that came to mind. They almost didn't hear when Rory spoke up again. 

"I don't think they think of us like that in the front of their minds. I don't think... they'd admit to it if I told them that's how I feel. I don't even think they'd take the time to properly look at their own behavior and maybe try to... I don't know... be different somehow. But... I really do think, on some level, that's how they think of me. Whether they're aware of it or not..."

"Take your time."

"They bought me a car for my birthday," Rory said in a frustrated tone, her legs moving once more. Pyxis followed, matching her gait, trying to stay at her side. "Not a used junk heap you can get for, what, thirty thousand Cash? No, a brand-new car that had probably never been touched by more than five people since its creation. Who does that? Who buys their child a brand-new car, just like that?"

"Lots of parents who can afford it, I guess?" Pyxis shrugged. "Not my mom, definitely. We never had a lot of money."

"They don't even know what kind of cars I like. What I would look for in one. They just dropped money on the first thing they figured a teenage girl would want. I... I just..."

"Yeah," they nodded, not knowing what else to say at that point. 

"You wanna know why I hold on to Rocky so tightly?" The Octoling nodded slowly, holding their breath without realizing it. "I mean, besides the fact he and Caurel were the only ones who wanted to be my friends when we were younger... I just really love their parents."

"Oh?"

"Like, I love all my friends' parents. But I'm super fond of Midori and Crystal. They're the most wonderful people I've ever met. They're always happy to see me, and they always pay attention to my interests. Back in the day, if I wore a band tee over to their house, then the next time I came over, Crystal would tell me what she thought about them after looking up their music. Just because I wore a shirt! At first I didn't like it, because I thought she was just being a snoopy, overprotective adult... but she really cares! She still has those songs on playlists she listens to while she works. Nowadays I just talk to her about everything. Midori, too. They're both busy a lot, but they notice me, and treat me like a person."

"You call them by their first names," Pyxis nodded. "You guys must be really close."

"Yep," Rory cheered, though her smile was short-lived. She stared in the direction of the pristine house, trying to see something out of her reach. "My parents... They're busy, too, but... They don't even notice that I change my hairstyle practically every week. Crystal does. Every time I come over, she says 'Nice look, Ladybug!' She calls me Ladybug," The Anemone couldn't help but giggle. 

"Oh yeah? How come?"

"I have no idea," she replied, and Pyxis joined in her laughter. "I just know that I like it."

"I can tell," Pyxis nodded. 

"Rocky... is going to grow up to be a wonderful adult, like them. Caurel will, too."

"Is that why you like him so much?"

"I think... it really might have been the reason this whole time. But it's alright. I'm over him."

"Really...?"

"Okay! In the process of getting over him."

"The beginning is hard," Pyxis nodded knowingly. "So I'm proud of you."

"Being with him... isn't what I really want anymore, anyway. It hasn't been for a long time."

"Mind if I ask what it is?"

"Pardon?"

"What you really want now?"

"I..."

"You don't have to tell me. I'm not here to make you feel uncomfortable."

"I want to play Turf War."

"That's great!"

"No, it's not. It's impossible. I don't produce ink. All I can do is... attract tiny sea animals to my hair. Not by choice, either."

"Can you wear an ink tank backpack?"

"I suppose..."

"Is your body made of soft tissue that can dissolve and pull itself back together?"

"...Not quite."

"Hm... That might pose a problem. But I've got this covered. Well, partially. I don't think the Inkopolis Battle Committee will allow you in registered matches, but that doesn't mean we can't play elsewhere."

"Elsewhere?"

"We'll worry about that later. For now, let's train you up!"

"Train?"

"You've got to learn how to play, right? Who better than the Fabulous Killjoys?"

"NO WAY!" Rory held her arms out and shook her head. "I don't want any of them to know I said that! Especially not Rocky."

"I'll respect that," Pyxis nodded, grabbing her hands and looking into her eyes. "Then I'll just have to teach you myself. Just you and I, one on one."

"A... Are you sure? You would take the time, just for me?"

"Turf War is my favorite thing ever. More people playing it is always a good thing."

"Why are you being so nice? You don't even know me. Not really."

"There's no one saying that can't change," they shrugged. "Except maybe you. And if you say so, I'll respect that. But I think we got off on the wrong flipper, and I think I'd be missing out on something important if I didn't fix that."

"Something important...?"

"Having you for a friend," they said with a wink. Rory, blushing, covered her face with her hair. 

"I'd like that, too. Just... stop being so cool. You're making me look bad."

"Okay...?" Pyxis couldn't help but laugh. "I'll try, I guess. I didn't know I was being 'cool'."

"Yeah, right!"

"Anyway, let's head over to the Plaza. I know a place we can train."

"Wait, we're starting right now?"

"Of course! You don't have any plans, do you?" Rory stole one last glance to the mansion, then shook her head. 

"You know what? I don't think I do. Let's go."

"Alright, TO THE TRAIN!"   
As they jogged together toward the front gate, Pyxis made sure to let their friends know all was well through a private message. 

Pyxis: We're going somewhere to hang out. Please don't let the gang follow us. Rory's going to be just fine.  
Pretty Flawless: I knew she would be. Thank you for everything. I'm proud of you, honey.  
Pyxis: I could get used to hearing that. :D  
Pretty Flawless: It makes me sad that you're not already.   
Pretty Flawless: I'm sorry. I didn't mean to imply anything. I go too far sometimes.  
Pyxis: We all go to far sometimes. It's okay.  
Pyxis: too*  
Pyxis: I know in my hearts that you say the things you say because you love us. If you ever really go too far with me, or I think you go too far with anyone else, I'll let you know.  
Pretty Flawless: Sounds like a plan. :)  
Pyxis: Rory wants you to hug your parents for her. And tell them she'll visit soon.  
Pretty Flawless: They'll be happy to hear that! They love her a lot.  
Pyxis: I think she knows.

\/\/\/\/\/

  
Fourth Month ended just as quickly as it had arrived, and now Fifth month would soon be over as well. Pyxis had their second Splatfest - Slicing Onions vs. Shaking Pepper - and their third - Beach vs. Water Park - yet they were still upset they couldn’t use their Salsa tee in battle anymore. They had probably tried out every weapon available, tried Ranked Battle for the first time, and had now become familiar with every area that was currently in use as a stage. 

What with the younger Inklings ending the first term of their final school year, and the monumental effort of rallying squads together and petitioning battle spots for “Ziggy’s stupid tournament”, Pyxis was surprised when Rocky called them over for a one-on-one conversation.

"Pyxiiiis!"

"Rockyyyy!" Pyxis greeted back, holding out their hands and smiling as they walked further inside the Yellow Submarine. "You wanted to see me, right? Do you feel better? You were really worried about Rory for a while there."

“Better than ever. Come on, have a seat, take a load off!” He waved them toward the usual booth.

“Is this a private chat?”

"Yeah, I picked this place because it's not usually that busy-"

"Hey hey hey, watch your mouth," an elderly Inkling said, approaching the table with a notepad and pen. "Whaddya want, Jet-Star?"

"Sarge!" Rocky said, standing up and offering his hand to the gentleman, who took it even though he was still holding the pen. After a quick shake, Rocky regretfully took back his newly inked palm. "I haven't seen you outside the kitchen in about two years, what's up?"

"Just fixing a hole, small fry, never you mind."

"You didn't fire any of my people, did you?"

"Waters, they're fine. Mind your own business. Now, order somethin' before I kick y'out."

"Baby, You're a Rich Man for me," Pyxis said. "But can I get like half of a Yellow Submarine on the side?"

"Hmm..." The chef stroked his chin, as if he was giving the question much thought. "I'll allow it."

"Much appreciated. Oh, and a sweet tea, please."

"And the trough for you, Waters?"

"Nah, I'll go with the standard Day Tripper and an algae pop," Rocky said.

"Alright, I'll have it out as soon as possible. It might take a while, but we're sorry for the inconvenience."

"There's nobody here."

"I told you to watch it," the older Inkling said in a gruff tone before returning to the kitchen.

"That's Sergeant Pepper. He's kind on the inside. Like a walnut." Pyxis couldn't help but laugh at the bizarre comparison. 

"So, what did you want to talk to me about?"

"Well... I'm really glad to have you as a friend, and member of the squad. You're really awesome."

"But...?"  
"I just wanna know some things. Like... Caurel and Ankyr, I understand completely. We've had the conversations. It was strange at first, when we were kids, but now there's nothing strange about it. Ankyr's a boy, Caurel's a girl. No question about it."

"Ah," Pyxis nodded. 

"But... I don't really have much experience with non-binary, agender, or genderfluid people. Not that it's weird to me, it's just... I want to understand better. So I can be a better friend to you."

"And it wouldn't hurt your chances with Abbey, either," Pyxis winked. Rocky sighed and put his hands to his hearts, as if he were wounded. 

"How do you do that? And don't just say 'I pay attention'," he added, curling his fingers twice to represent quotation marks. 

"Fair enough," the Octoling chuckled. "Oh, thanks, Sarge!" The chef had brought their drinks, and disappeared again with a quick "No problem!" in response. "You're just easier to read than most, that's all."

"Well, that doesn't make me feel any better. Do you think Abbey sees right through me?"

"Oh, no, no, I meant you're easier to read for me," Pyxis shook their head. "I can't speak for everyone. Who knows? I mean, obviously, they know you like them. That's impossible to not pick up."

"True, true," he nodded, sipping on his algae-flavored soda. "Anyway, what is it like?"

"Hm? Oh... Well, I can't speak for every non-binary person... And... maybe I'm not the best at explaining this, but... To start off with... Basically, the way I've come to think of it, 'gender' is a societal thing. Like, there are two long lists of behaviors and attributes that we all have a grasp on without thinking about it, because it's ingrained in the cultures we were raised in."

"Of course," Rocky nodded. 

"Some people want to get rid of it altogether, some people are okay with the idea as long as it's practiced a different way... if that makes any sense?"

"Right, like how Ankyr, Moises, and me determine our own senses of masculinity, outside of the 'masculinity' of some other people we grew up around."

"Exactly! Meanwhile, me... I align with both lists, basically. Well... sometimes I don't fit into either. I feel like... there are a lot of other "lists" and the ones we use are... What's the word...? Rigid? Super rigid. Limited. But the world I was brought up in tells me I can only fit into one of those lists... And I want them both. I'm told I can't have both, but I want them. Like, I'm not trying to downplay how potentially harmful the lists can be, if used certain ways, like..."

"Like they've been in the past," Rocky nodded. 

"Yeah..."

"So... Let me see if I got this right. Your personality and behavior and stuff line up with so many things from both lists, that you don't feel like just one gender?"

"Pretty much," Pyxis nodded. "I guess I could've just said 'I feel like both a man and woman' but... Well, there it is. Oh, thanks again, Sarge." The chef had arrived with their meals, hot and fresh from the kitchen. 

"No problem," the older Inkling said once again before returning to the kitchen. 

"So, when did you first notice you felt that way?" Rocky asked. "Just curious."

"Ah... I'm not sure what the very first thing was, but..." They lowered their eyes and considered their next choice of words. 

"If there's anything you don't feel comfortable-"

"I know," they smiled. "You guys have always made sure I feel safe and comfortable. I'll let you know if we're going to cross that line, okay?"

"Sounds good," he nodded. "I'll follow your lead."

"So... When I was a little kid... Probably no older than ten. I got a dress dirty, playing outside with my friends. This... wasn't a common occurrence. I had a lot of dresses - I mean, tons. I had two great-aunts and a grandmother who gave them to me all the time, for no reason, and I took great care of them - too much care, I think, because most of them were never worn. They were more like trophies or decorations. But... Basically, things happened and I didn't get a chance to change before some friends suggested playing a game one time. I fell in some mud; it happens." Rocky nodded to show he was paying attention. "So I had to change before... a party or something, I can't remember. Something important, at least to the adults in my family. And they were angry. I think there might have been other factors in how mad they were, that I just didn't realize? Rather, it seemed really out of place for them to be so upset about such a little thing, so I guess I've always told myself that there was something else. Who knows? I just remember sitting at the table while my dad lectured me about how I act too much 'like a boy', how I need to learn to 'act like a young lady', and that I was no longer allowed to play with those friends. I didn't understand this - that group of friends was about equal parts boys and girls. But now I couldn't spend time with any of them. I tried to make up for it by hanging out with them more at school, but we still eventually fell apart. Rocky, are you crying?"

"Nah, I'm fine," the male Inkling said, wiping a tear from his eye, making it seem as though he was merely scratching. "I was helping Sarge chop onions earlier. So, that was when you realized you had traits from more than one list?"

"That was when I realized what it was like to have them separated, and that I didn't want that," they said. "My parents were adamant that I wasn't allowed to do "boy" things. I didn't understand what they meant, obviously. I played a lot of games, read a lot of books, all that. Looking back now, I can see which ones were made with a target audience in mind, but even so... Why should there ever be a distinction? Or if there is, why should it ever matter? Why can't I enjoy them all?"

"You deserve to enjoy whatever you enjoy."

"Thank you for that validation, Rocky."

"No big."

"So..."

"So."

"This is a long question and answer," Pyxis laughed. 

"Yeah," Rocky nodded. "Do you want to keep going with this, or are you wiped out?"

"We can keep going at least until I finish my pasta," they shrugged. "After that, we'll see."

"So... How do the people around you make you feel? In regards to your identity, I mean."

"I guess it depends," they shrugged. "I mean, most people that I know personally, don't even acknowledge it. So... I guess I feel... not great? Ignored? Disregarded? Like, they'd never disregard me as a person, but that's... part of who I am, so... Phew... I've never really vocalized all these feelings before. Like, I love them, and I know they love me... But when I'm around you guys, it's different. I feel respected. I feel like who I am is a wonderful thing, and not something I should hide or neglect to mention. You guys are the best."

"We definitely try," Rocky winked. 

"But yes, most of the time, just quietly disregarded, I guess," Pyxis nodded once they caught their breath. "When I'm not afraid."

"Afraid?" Rocky raised an eyebrow. He shook his head slightly as he continued speaking. "I've... never thought of you as afraid before. You're so fearless."

"That's a good one," Pyxis scoffed, before clearing their throat. "I'm sorry, I forget you guys only see the me I am when I'm over here."

"What, are you a werewolf?" Rocky asked with a grin, which quickly faded. "Sorry. I get what you mean. I mean, not completely. Not even... a lot... But..."

"Yeah," Pyxis nodded. "To be honest... And like I said, my experience isn't universal or anything, but... Look, I'm comfortable with my masculinity, just like I'm comfortable with my femininity. I've been discovering and defining both. I hate to sound cliché, but it's been a journey." 

"I get that."

"But I take it so slow because. Well, I'm embarrassed to really delve into that journey around anyone. Like, shopping. If I buy mascara or something pink and frilly, it's no big deal. But I'm also tempted to buy things like tools or the pair of overalls I ordered yesterday, or... anything my mom wouldn't want me to buy. But I hardly ever do because I don't want the person I'm shopping with to know. It helps that I live on my own now, but at the same time I'd like someone to get excited with me over things... anything! But I'm afraid of what my friends' reactions might be. And I'm afraid to even involve anyone to begin with, so I'll never find out. So, it's like a cycle that never starts. Or, an endless cycle of nothing. Take your pick."

"But, you're talking to me about it," Rocky pointed out. "And I'd totally love to see those overalls. And I don't care about makeup, but I care about you, so if you want to show me, I can at least say "Nice!' or give you a thumbs-up."

"Wow," they smiled. "That's a lot like what Ankyr told me."

"Well, we're both pretty smart gentlemen for our young age," Rocky grinned. 

"I couldn't agree more."

"How do your friends contribute to all that?" he pressed on. "The ones across the water, I mean."

"I thought I said that already," they laughed. "They don't acknowledge it. To them, I'm... not who I am."

"Why?"

"'Why?' Why not? They don't think it's real. Being anything but a man or a woman... That's not a concept where I'm from. Everyone insists I'm a woman. Except a certain friend of mine who keeps asking if I want to be a man..."

"That's..." Rocky fell silent, choosing his words carefully. "I'm really mad right now..."

"I'm sorry..."

"Pyxis...! You didn't do anything, so don't apologize. It's them...! How dare they not respect who you say you are?"

"It's that easy, huh?" In spite of themself, they started laughing, and couldn't stop.

"Wh... What's so funny?"

"I don't know, I just... I love you, Rocky."

"I love you, too, weirdo," the male Inkling scoffed, wiping a tear from his eye.

"You're all so kind to me... Before I ever even gave you a reason to. How can people like you exist in the world?" Now they were the one wiping tears away. 

"Hey, hey, Pyxis... Where is this coming from?"

"You called me 'they' without question. You treated me like my thoughts and feelings matter. I think... I think my other friends really do care about me... But only within their boundaries, if that makes any sense."

"I think I get it," Rocky nodded. 

"I've been... thinking about stuff like that a lot lately. What I am to people. In what specific ways people love me... Figures it would overlap with my gender. I mean... That should've been obvious, but whatever."

"Feelings are difficult," Rocky shrugged.

"Feelings are feelings."

"Word."

"When I hang out with my female friends, it's 'just us girls'. We have 'girl talk' and do things I don't do with most of my guy friends. And that's totally acceptable for some reason. When I spend time with my male friends, it's like there's a breach between us, much bigger than between me and the women. When I was younger, I couldn't feel it, but nowadays... It's like they're holding back when I'm around. I don't know if I make them uncomfortable or anything... I hope not... But either way, there's that rift. I'll never be 'one of the guys', no matter how hard I try. Never... I hate it. I hate it so much!"

"Pyxis..." Rocky pulled a few napkins from the tiny dispenser and handed them to his friend, who took them and buried their face in them, soaking them with their tears.

"Why does it matter what kind of body I was born with? Or what people decided they had the right to call me before I could even think about things like that? I'm a living person, with feelings. I just want to be me! What's so wrong with that?"

"Nothing, nothing at all," Rocky said, shaking his head. "They're the ones who are wrong."

"They're the ones...?"

"That's it," Rocky said, slamming his fist on the table. "We're gonna fix this tonight!" He took out his phone and immediately started tapping keys on the screen.

"How?"

"You're gonna be 'one of the guys' tonight, Pyxis. Come out with me and some friends. We'll do guy things, like..."

"Like?"

"...I dunno, what are some guy things?"

"You don't know?" They couldn't help cackling despite their tears. 

"I never think about things as 'guy or girl', they're just things. Oh! We should roll around in the dirt."

"That sounds like fun," Pyxis nodded. "What else?"

"Um... Well, Caurel insists boys roughouse a lot, so... Let's get into fights!"

"Fights?!"

"It'll be with friends, so it's okay," he said, waving his hand. "Don't worry."

"Are you sure?"

"Let's see... What else?'

"Let's build a fire and howl at the moon," they said with another laugh.

"You really are a werewolf, aren't you?"

"Wolves aren't real, silly."

\/\/\/\/\/

"Yo!"

"Yooooo!"

"Is this the new bro?"

"Yup! Everybody say hello to Pyxis! AKA Velocity, AKA 100-Win-Streak, AKA King of Urchin Underpass, AKA-"

"Stop that," Pyxis said, giving Rocky a light punch to the back.

"They've never felt like one of the guys, so let's make sure they feel included."

"One of us," chanted one of the small group, "one of us, one of us!"

"Yeah!" A very tall Inkling raised his fist into the air. "Pyxis, welcome to our brotherhood of manly men! And not-so-manly men! And... whatever the heck Kelpy is!"

"Hey! I told you, it's Kel!"

"Yeah, yeah, sorry, Kel." 

"Kel?" Pyxis asked, their attention drawn to a dark blue Sea Anemone. She looked nothing like Rory, who was the only Anemone Pyxis knew by name at that point; she was much taller, and carried herself in a much more mature way. 

"Yeah, Kel is a manly woman," one of the others nodded. "She's right at home with the rest of us."

"It doesn't matter what you are," the tall Inkling spoke up again. "Everyone is welcome. As long as you're MANLY!!" The rest of the group cheered at this. 

"But what does it mean to be manly?" a red Urchin asked, gazing up at the sky. "What does manliness consist of? To what should we strive, if we wish to have manliness?"

"No, don't start that again," groaned a yellow Inkling.

"Are you sure I belong here?" Pyxis asked Rocky. "I don't really feel confident..."

"That happens to everyone," the tall Inkling nodded, touching his thumb and index finger to his chin. "Just be yourself and you should be fine. Speaking of which, we forgot introductions. I'm Clay. The one with the yellow tentacles is Dandelion. The guy with the red spikes is Bakemono - though we tend to call him Baka to save time."

"No respect," Bakemono shook his head, the spikes on his head swaying slightly with the motion.

"And last but not least, the one with the dark green tentacles is Kyouryuu." Clay gestured to an Octoling at the rear of the small group, tending the fire. "Hey Kyou, you feel like a man tonight?"

"Yeah, for the moment," the Octoling said, giving their friend a grin. "We'll see how it goes."

"An Octoling," Pyxis said under their breath, unable to hide their excitement.

"Kyouryuu is gender-fluid," Rocky said. "They usually prefer 'they/them' pronouns, but during these parties, most of the time, it's 'he'."

"Like right now," the green-haired youth said cheerily while stoking the campfire with a stick. "It's nice to be a man sometimes. Camping! Gutting fish! Cooking stuff over an open fire with no parental supervision! GAOOO!!" Pyxis couldn't help but laugh along with the rest of the gang. 

"Hey Velocity, why don't you help Kyou with the fire while we catch some fish?" Rocky suggested. 

"Um... Sure! Good luck with the fishing!"

"No sweat," he smiled before grabbing a large net and running into the water.

"Hi there," the green-tentacled Octoling greeted. "You can come closer, I don't bite. Here, have a stick."

"Ooh, a stick," Pyxis laughed. "Thank you."

"Everyone tending the fire deserves a stick to poke it with. Your name is Pyxis, right?"

"Right," they nodded, taking a seat on one of the logs around the fire and gently poking the burning wood. "You... Um... You live here, in Inkopolis?"

"Yep," Kyouryuu said. "About five years now, I think. My mom and I. You just moved here, huh?"

"Wh-what?"

"You seem kinda like I did at first. Slow to talk to other Octolings over here, not sure what to say. You'll get more confident about it, I promise. Anyway, this is a great place to live."

"I actually... don't live here. I live in Radical City."

"Oh... Sorry to hear it."

"No, it's fine. I have a great apartment there. And I don't hang around toxic people any more than I have to, just my few friends downtown."

"I'm glad," Kyouryuu said, his smile returning before adding a few more twigs to the fire. "But even if you have a good life, I would advise getting out of there as soon as possible."

"Getting out of what now?" Rocky asked as he and Clay returned with a net full of fish. They dumped the flopping creatures into a barrel. 

"That was quick," Pyxis marvelled, staring at the barrel full of fish. 

"Doesn't take long with a net," Clay smiled. 

"I was just advising Pyxis that there are better places to live than their hometown."

"Ah," Rocky said. "I don't know enough about the town to vote one way or another on that. I can say the Killjoys would love having you live here with us, though," he added with a wink.

"That means a lot to me," Pyxis smiled. 

"Doesn't matter if it's Inkopolis, New Sardine, Reisenkalmar, or even another Octoling town like Heartbeat City. Something fishy is going on in Radical."

"Like what?" Pyxis asked.

"I'm not sure. All I know is, I don't trust the military."

"Okaaaay," Kel said, approaching together with Bakemono. "That's enough paranoia for one evening. Pyxis, Kyou, you guys will cook whatever fish we don't salt."

"Sure," Pyxis nodded. 

"Rocky, Baka, help Clay clean."

"Roger," Bakemono nodded. 

"And Dandy, you can help me salt."

"Delicious," Dandelion said. "I've been full of salt since the day of my birth." The team got to work on their tasks, and all was quiet for a moment, other than Clay's quiet uttering of prayers each time he sliced open a fish. It was Pyxis who first spoke up. 

"You know, I really wouldn't mind living here in the future."

"How far in the future?" Rocky asked. "Like when there's life on Mars and stuff?"

"No," they laughed. "Like in the next year or something, maybe. I don't know... I just... I like the idea of living somewhere like this. Surrounded by people who love and understand me. And where even strangers respect me just the bare minimum amount to respect what I ask to be called."

"I drink to that," Kyouryuu said, emptying his water bottle in a few gulps. 

"Pyxis..." Rocky hesitated. "I appreciate that. But every place has its problems. Inkopolis isn't all that perfect, you know."

"True," Bakemono said. "Just the other day, somebody called Kyou a 'filthy Octarian'. I've never wanted to hit an elderly person so badly before."

"What?!" Pyxis shouted. "They're not even the same genus as us!"

"I know, right?" Kyouryuu laughed. 

"I mean, we have a common ancestor, but that's it!"

"Pyxis, you weren't this outraged when Rory called you an Octarian," Rocky laughed. 

"Huh? I don't remember that... When was this?"

"When you two first met. Salsa versus Queso Splatfest."

"Oh yeah, before I joined... I don't remember her saying that, but I trust your word. Maybe I just wasn't paying attention because of the concert high."

"Oh man, I love that feeling," Dandelion said. "Dancing all night to some great jams - what more do you need in life?"

"Water," Bakemono suggested.

"Healthy friends," Rocky added.

"Turf War," Pyxis said, putting a grin on their squad leader's face. 

"I'm happy me and the squad could introduce you to something you love so much."

"And I'm happy I have you guys in my life," they replied with a soft smile. "Even now, I'm learning new things and making new friends. I love it here."

"Pyxis... To be honest, Ankyr and the gang, and other kids our age, are only as free and safe and confident as we are, because previous generations, like my parents', made huge strides toward equality for everyone. They fought, and they fought hard. Not on a battlefield - I mean, my mom was a soldier, but that's beside the point!"

"I gotcha," Pyxis laughed.

"There are regulations and rules and... I dunno, new social norms, that protect people, that say that my sister and my best friend can exist exactly as who they are, without having to fear being killed for it. Penny and Caasi can receive all the benefits of any other couple if they get married, they can't be refused services because of who they love. My uncles dreamed about a future like this their entire lives, but they never thought it would become a reality in their lifetimes. They call it a utopia. Imagine, looking at this regular, plain, mundane life as a utopia."

"I can imagine," they nodded. Rocky smiled. 

"That's pretty much how I see it, most of the time," Kyouryuu said. 

"Well," Rocky began with a smile, though it turned to a frown when he noticed a candy wrapping under the sand. He pulled it up with a growl before continuing. "Maybe it would be more of one if there wasn't so much TRASH IN THE OCEAN!" 

"Hey, don't blame us, blame the old humans," Clay sighed. "They screwed this planet over long before we got here. I mean, who discovers their actions are harmful to the place they live, and still continues as they were, not changing, not growing?"

"I mean, can we really say that?" Bakemono asked. "Since we've piggybacked off of their tech, their knowledge, their architecture..."

"Yeah, but we did it right," Kel pointed out. "We've built our world cleaner and better than all those dead cities out there. We learned from their mistakes. Maybe that's all they were there for in the first place. Maybe the only reason we're here is so someone else can learn from ours."

"That's depressing," the Sea Urchin said, lowering his head. 

"Hey, don't stab the fish with your spikes," Dandelion exclaimed, pushing Bakemono's chin up.

"Pyxis," Rocky spoke up, his face blushing blue. "Teach me how to swim."

"What?" The Octoling blinked a few times and turned their attention to their friend.

"Teach me... So I can go into the ocean and clean it. Please." The entire group fell silent for a moment. "Like, not right now. But when Summer break gets here..."

"Sure," Pyxis said after some hesitation. "I'll let you know when I'm free."

"It's just... I want Bluefin Depot back," he said, his voice cracking. "The game's just not the same without it! That's it!"

"I understand, Rocky," Pyxis said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Don't be ashamed of what you're passionate about. Ever. Especially when it's something so important." Rocky turned away and continued scaling the fish, not really wanting to respond. "I will help you make the ocean a better place, Rocky. I promise."

"I... have a lot of feelings right now."

"You should let them out before you pull a Burst Bomb," they said with a wink. In response to this, Rocky jumped up from his seat, setting his spoon down, and ran across the beach. 

"Everybody howl with me! AWOO!"

The rest of the group exchanged glances for a while, then eventually shrugged and collectively stopped what they were doing to get up and chase after him, howling into the darkness of the night.

\/\/\/\/\/

The day had finally arrived! School was out for Summer, and every squid squad on the tournament list celebrated by sleeping away the next day - though that had been a tradition some time ago. Naturally, the opening matches would be taking place that evening.

[07:38]Velocity: Who wants to go swimming in rainwater?  
[07:38]KobraKid™: Ewww.  
[07:39]Velocity: Sorry, Pretty Flawless. XD It's just a tradition of mine. Or something like that.  
[07:42]Jet-Star: It's too early for that. First day of Summer break is Sleep Day. Also, I need to ritually prepare for the first battle after I sleep. So... my schedule is stuffed.  
[07:42]Velocity: But you wanted me to teach you how to swim! Come on, man!  
[07:43]Jet-Star: YOU SAID YOU WOULDN'T TELL ANYWON!!!  
[07:43]Velocity: Oh snowflakes...  
[07:43]Jet-Star: anyone*  
[07:43]Jet-Star: YOU TRAITORRRR  
[07:45]KobraKid™: We all know you love the ocean and want to save it.  
[07:45]KobraKid™: It's not like you're a closed book.  
[07:46]KobraKid™: Give it a rest.  
[07:46]Jet-Star: YOU DON'T KNOW MY LIFE  
[07:46]Velocity: I'm really sorry, Rocky. But if your rage has awakened you, do you want to go now?  
[[07:47]Jet-Star: Nah. Sleep Day is a tradition I plan to uphold for the rest of my life.  
[07:47]KobraKid™: Better tell all your future employers you need every 29th of Gogatsu off for religious reasons.  
[07:48]Velocity: Oh yeah, I keep forgetting you guys' Fifth Month is our Seventh Month.  
[07:49]KobraKid™: Cultures are fascinating that way.  
[07:49]Jet-Star: Doesn't matter, Summer is a universal language, baby!  
[07:50]KobraKid™: Go back to sleep.  
[07:50]Jet-Star: You're not my mom!  
[07:50]KobraKid™: We have the same mom.  
[07:50]Jet-Star: And it ain't you!  
[07:50]Sunshine: Well, now that that's settled, I'll go with you, Pyxis.  
[07:51]Velocity: Yaaayyy! What would I do without you, Pretty Harmless?  
[07:51]Sunshine: Swim by yourself a lot, for starters.   
[07:51]Velocity: Yeah, and who wants to do that? XP  
[07:54]PartyPoisn: I love you guys more than anything, but would you all please STOP TALKING??? It's Sleep Day!  
[07:54]KobraKid™: You control the volume level on your devices, dear.  
[07:55]PartyPoisn: I knooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooowwwww  
[07:55]KobraKid™: But you're still going to complain.  
[07:55]PartyPoisn: But Im still gonna complain  
[07:55]PartyPoisn: :D I love you, Cricket.  
[07:55]KobraKid™: And I love you~  
[07:56]Velocity: This is something that's been on my mind for a long time... Why do you guys call each other Butterfly and Cricket?  
[07:56]PartyPoisn: Ohhhhhhhhh  
[07:57]KobraKid™: That's a pretty long story. That I'm sure we'll entertain you with sometime sooner or later.  
[07:58]PartyPoisn: But I want the mood to be light when we do. Has to be a good time. I can't be in my irritable state.  
][07:58]KobraKid™: I agree.  
[08:00]PartyPoisn: If you want a short explanation, my pet... Caurel has a tendency to chirp in everyone's ear, so she's Cricket.  
[08:00]KobraKid™: And I watched Penny grow a chrysalis and emerge as a Butterfly.  
[08:01]PartyPoisn: _I'll become a merry butterfly, and ride on the earnest wind~_  
[08:01]Sunshine: _I'll come to see you no matter where you are~_  
[08:01]KobraKid™: Darnit, Ankyr, you type faster than me!  
[08:01]PartyPoisn: _Ambiguous words are surprisingly handy~_  
[08:01]Sunshine: _I'll shout it out, while listening to a hit song~_  
[08:02]Velocity: I'm so lost, haha xD

  
\/\/\/\/\/

"So, where are we going?"

"Well, first we're gonna go through this kettle."

"Kettle?"

"It's perfectly safe. Mostly. You will want to change your color more to mine, though." Ankyr nodded and shifted the color of his tentacles from dark green to purple. They dropped through the grate and landed in an enclosed pond. Pyxis bumped their tentacle against a switch which made the water swiftly flow like a river, and they were soon launched upward, passing through a wide tunnel that fed into the bottom of a collossal cavern illuminated by huge overhead lights. The walls of this subterranean chamber were completely covered by gargantuan monitors, all displaying a view of a cloudy sky. Within the cavern itself, buildings, rocks, giant sponges, and stretches of ground and pavement were all floating stationary in midair. 

"Wow... What is this place?"

"The Sponge Gardens," Pyxis said, nodding toward a wide circle nearby that was similar to the spawn pools he was used to seeing.

"One of many places we let the Octarians take over, if only because reconstructing any of this to be suitable for us to live in would take ages. Oh yeah, you've never seen an Octarian, have you?"

"Not in person," he shrugged. 

"What do you mean?"

"Well... There are pictures and descriptions in science books. They're... unflattering. It's easy to tell some kind of negative bias went into it."

"Ah... What about my species?"

"Well..."

"Unflattering?"

"Definitely."

"Lovely," they said, lifting the tentacle in front of their face with their breath. Both were silent for a moment, unsure of what to say.

"So, uh... Why do they call it the Sponge Gardens?"

"Sponges," Pyxis said, waving their arm lackadaisically in the air to gesture at the cavern in general, before walking toward the purple circle. Ankyr followed after quickly, resisting the urge to grab their hand. Instead, he focused on the yellow and purple sponges resting in the air - some half his size, some as big as his living room, and many in between. When he finally brought his attention back to Pyxis, they were biting the collar of their shirt, lost in thought.

"Hey... You're not mad at me, are you?"

"Nah, just all of Inkopolis."

"But I'm an... Inkopolis... ian..."

"I'm angry with the people in my town, too. I mean, I kind of always am nowadays. I was brought up in a bunch of lies. We all let ourselves be brought up in a bunch of lies, just because we've been isolated from each other for so long, and some old people have been angry for so long. I hate it!"

"I know," he nodded, offering his hand. "I remember."

"I know we've talked about this before," they sighed, taking his hand with both of theirs. "I'm sorry. I just... I just..."

"It's a big thing," Ankyr said. "It's something that's affected you... affected all of us. We can talk about it as much as you want, as much as you need. Your feelings matter to me."

"Ankyr..." Pyxis let go of his hand in favor of putting their arms around him. 

"So, do you want to talk about it?"

"Not right now. Come on, let's just go swimming," they said, yanking him into the purple circle. 

"I've been meaning to ask, but what is this thing?"

"This is a launchpad. You just... Mollusc form... And kaboom." 

"Kaboom?"

"Super Jump."

"Oh!" The two shifted into their mollusc forms and waited a moment, and soon they were jettisoned upward and through another tunnel in the cavern's ceiling. They passed through one more kettle, and suddenly they were on the surface again. 

"Whoa," Ankyr said, looking around at the outdoor area he had been led to. From what he could tell, they were on top of one of the floating platforms in Octo Valley. This one in particular looked like a large skatepark, with several ramps and a few pools - the latter of which were filled with water.

"Reminds me of Blackbelly Skatepark."

"Are you sure you don't mind swimming in rainwater?" Pyxis asked, pulling off their Black Squideye top, leaving their black elastic undershirt. 

"Nah, it sounds mystical," Ankyr grinned as he removed his Green Hoodie. Soon both of them were wearing only the black elastic clothing popularly known as battle gear.

"You're pretty chill."

"Oh, are you changing my 'pretty' name?"

"No way, 'Pretty Harmless' is perfect," they said, running toward one of the pools. 

"I suppose, yeah," he nodded as the Octoling jumped into the water, splashing a few drops onto their friend. 

"Do you want me to change it?" Pyxis asked when they resurfaced.

"Nah," he laughed.

"Ankyr... Don't lie. Tell the truth."

"I mean," he shrugged as he slipped into the pool slowly. "'Pretty Chill' sounds cool, but... It's not me. Anyway, 'Pretty Harmless' has sentimental value that can't be replaced."

"Oh yeah?" they asked, frown turning into a smile.

"Well, I ran into this person who tried to kill me, once," he said, and both of them laughed. "Once everything calmed down, they made a joke, and... the rest is history."

"Sounds like you guys are great friends."

"The best. I'd be lost without them."

"Oh, because I'm a compass?" Pyxis laughed.

"Ah, you've heard them all before," the Inkling nodded. "I guess there's no point in trying."

"Stop," his best friend laughed, their cheeks turning purple as they splashed him with water.

"Okay, I'll cut it out," he chuckled. After a moment of silence, he spoke up again, giggling. "Thanks, Pyxis."

"Thanks for what?" He couldn't even make his response without laughing the words:

"Thanks for keeping me anchored."

"I give up!" Pyxis started laughing again, wiping tears of mirth from their eyes before diving to the bottom of the pool.

\/\/\/\/\/

"Thanks for swimming with me, Pretty Harmless. No one in Radical City ever wants to 'dirty' their bodies with wild water."

"Guess they have to miss out," he shrugged, grinning. Can I meet your friends someday?"

"You really want to meet them?"

"Of course!"

"Sorry, it's just. You tend to get so mad..."

"Well, that's only in regards to the whole not-respecting-you thing," he said, scratching the back of his head. "But they're still your friends, so they can't be all bad. I mean... I have relatives who don't respect that I'm a man, but I still love them. So I get that struggle, believe me. My grandma tries to buy me dresses. And calls me a 'little princess'."

"Wow. That's so disrespectful! I'm really... Ankyr! Is this what you feel every time I vent about my family and friends? This... Secondhand angry?"

"Secondhand angry," Ankyr laughed. "I like that. Yeah, it's like 'How dare you mistreat someone I care about? RUDE!"

"Yes, it's very rude! I'm not okay with this!"

"And yet, I still want to meet your friends," he winked. 

"WHY?" This set Ankyr into a bout of laughter. 

"Well, for one, that's not all you've told me about them. You've told me how Carina is sometimes the only person you can trust, that she's the mature person that ties the group together and gets you all out of trouble."

"True," they nodded. 

"And how Cygnus may be rude and inconsiderate, but you can always count on him to lighten a foul mood with a joke. And Hans is the best listener, and is always super kind to everyone, even though he doesn’t think so highly of himself. And Shera may be a dingus, but when she does notice there's something wrong, she's there for you in a snap."

“Wow... I’m glad your memory is so great, ‘cause I don’t remember saying all that.”

“I pay attention,” he winked. 

“That’s my line,” they said, slapping their shirt against his side. 

"I don't really remember much of anything you said about your other friends, though."

"That makes sense; I hang with those four more than anyone else these days." 

"Ah, I understand." 

“So you really want to meet them?” He nodded vigorously. "Hm... How about today?"

"Really?"

"I'm sure they don't have anything better to do," they said, tapping away on their phone. "And the tournament match isn't until like... seven hours from now."

"Sure," he laughed. “That would be awesome!” Several electronic beeps let Pyxis know they had responses. 

"So... The main four are free. Are you hungry?"

"A little," he nodded, drying off with a bright yellow towel. Pyxis typed a while more, as message tones rang out through the skate park. 

"Alright, we have plans. Are you sure you don't have anything else today?"

"Nope. And even if I did... I've been wanting to meet your here-friends for a while."

"Oh, sorry to keep you waiting," they laughed. Once the two were dressed, Pyxis led their best friend down the kettle. After a quick descent back through the Sponge Gardens, and a quick ink tunnel ride, the two emerged atop a hill overlooking a vast metropolis. 

"Whoa..."

Skyscrapers decorated with purples, blues, and pinks dotted the landscape, while plenty of smaller buildings rested both on the ground and on floating platforms similar to those he had seen in the previous areas. The city was filled with lush greenery, and he would bet you couldn't walk a city block without seeing a variety of trees. Just when Ankyr was about to ask how they grew all of this underground, Pyxis spoke up.

"Welcome to Radical City. Pretty cool, huh?"

"It's beautiful..."

"Hey, come on, we're gonna be late." They pulled him toward a large purple orb which was firing a steady, thin stream of ink through the air to connect to a much smaller orb, which then sent the ink out in three separate lines, creating a sort of aerial roadway that spread out above many spots in the city. 

"Wow, how does it do that?" Ankyr asked, examining the orb closely. 

"It's just an Inkrail," Pyxis said. "You mean you guys don't have inkrails in Inkopolis?"

"Never seen one before," Ankyr shrugged. "Are we taking this?"

"Yep!"

"Any tips?"

"Um... You have to stay in mollusc form. I mean, you don't have to I guess, but if you don't... It's gonna hurt," they finished with an open-palm gesture toward the city streets below. 

"No joke," he chuckled, and Pyxis jumped into the orb to lead the way. Ankyr stayed behind just a moment to place his palm against the orb, which was cold to the touch. "Cool." He pushed against it, and his hand entered the orb; he could feel the ink perpetually circulating in a current inside. "Whoa! Awesome." 

"You dork," Pyxis squeaked from where they were waiting inside the rail. "Come on."

"Sure thing," he nodded, finally turning to squid form and jumping in. He followed Pyxis along a route they traveled as quickly and surely as if they had taken it dozens of times. The two eventually emerged in a nearby part of town, jumping out and onto a wooden pier built onto a cliffside building with a gorgeous view of a waterfall. A group of four Octolings were waiting for them, and all but one gawked at the Inkling Pyxis had brought with them.

"Whoooaaah!" shouted Shera, who was wearing her tentacles hot pink on this particular day. 

"Pixie, good morning," greeted one of the two male Octolings. 

"This is your new friend?" the other asked. 

"Guys, this is Ankyr," Pyxis said. "He's from High Color City. Or, as they call it these days, Inkopolis."

"I knew it, I KNEW IT!" 

"Shut up, Shera," the two males said, their tones already exhausted. 

"Everyone hush," a female Octoling said, stepping forward. "Nice to meet you, Ankyr," she greeted, offering her hand to shake, which Ankyr took with a smile. "My name's Carina. I'm the mom friend or queen or whatever, pick one."

"It's nice to meet you, too,” Ankyr said before his hand was taken by one of the male Octolings. 

“Cygnus,” he said. “Charmed.”

“Same here,” the Inkling said. 

“You look athletic. What do you do for a living? Are you an Aquarius? You have that kind of energy.”

“Taurus,” he shook his head. 

“Cygnus, don’t hog the new friend,” the other male winked, nudging Cygnus in the ribs with his elbow. “Hans is the name. Howd’ya do, Ankyr?”

“Pretty great, thanks for asking!”

“And I’m Shera,” the last of them said. “I knew Pyxis had a second life across the water. So nice to finally see it with my own eyes. Are you really a Squidling?” She leaned in closer.

“Shera, personal space,” Carina said with the tired tone you’d expect from someone who has to repeat themself to the same person twenty times a day. Shera pouted, but backed away. “So, now that we’ve handled the pleasantries, let’s eat.” 

“I love that idea,” Pyxis nodded as the group moved inside the building.

\/\/\/\/\/

Instead of being seated at a table, they waited in line to place their orders at the front. Most of the gang knew what they wanted immediately, but Ankyr felt too out of of his element and far too shy to ask what anything was. 

“Not sure what you want?” Pyxis asked once everyone else’s orders had been taken. 

“Um...”

“Why don’t you get the Mega Spaghetta? It’s not the Baby, You’re a Rich Man, but it’s pasta.”

“Baby, You’re a Rich Man?” Cygnus guffawed. “What kind of name is that?” This earned him a light smack on the back of the head from Carina. 

“Manners.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Um, one Mega Spaghetta, please,” Ankyr told the cashier. 

“How do you want it, hon?” the adult Octoling asked. 

“Um... How do you recommend it?”

“First-timer, huh? I’ll just put you down for the usual,” she nodded, typing away at her computer monitor before handing Carina a plastic cube with the numeral 9 etched into it. 

“Alright then,” Ankyr said with a smile as the group moved toward a table. “Guys, I’m getting the usual!”

“Yeah yeah,” Cygnus said, pushing him gently to get him to move along. “Your mother and I are very proud.”

“You don’t know my mom,” Ankyr said, eyebrow raised in confusion. 

“Pixie, your friend is no fun,” the male Octoling chuckled. 

Once the gang was seated and situated, Carina started the conversation. 

“Ankyr, tell us about yourself. A few big things.”

“Um... Well, I’m from Inkopolis.”

“We already know that,” Shera said.

“Let him speak, Shera,” Carina said without removing her gaze from the Inkling. Shera bowed her head, pouting once again. 

“Um... I’m eighteen. A trans man. A-”

“Whoa,” Shera cut in. “Why are you wearing female skin?”

“Oh my gods, Shera,” Cygnus said. “You can’t just ask people-”

“What’s it like?” Hans asked. “The environment over there?”

“Um... There’s a lot of water...”

“No, no,” Hans chuckled, covering his mouth with his left hand. “The people... Are you accepted? Being yourself?”

“Oh...” Everyone was looking at him now. “Well... It depends.. There are a few people who give me a hard time, but overall nobody really cares. You can be yourself, especially at the Plaza.”

“The plaza?” Carina echoed.

“Oh, it’s where everybody goes to hang out.”

“It’s amazing,” Pyxis said. “There are great shops, and music is always playing overhead - really good music. There are lots of cool little places to hang out with your friends, and-” 

“Pyxis,” Carina said. “Let Ankyr speak.” The non-binary Octoling nodded, not saying anything, and turned their attention to the Inkling, who held onto their hand under the table.

“Okay, I’ve got three Mega Spaghettas,” a waiter said as he approached the table with a cart, lifting dishes from it and placing them on the table. “Two Class Act Salads, a double mushroom Super Slice and one with the works, and a family lasagna for the table, which is coming up soon.”

“Thank you so much,” Carina said, bowing. 

“Yeah, thanks,” Ankyr nodded. 

“Hope you brought your appetite,” Shera said with a wide grin before digging into her salad. 

“Oh, I eat food like this almost every day,” Ankyr laughed. “It smells like home.” He twirled up a good amount of the noodles and sauce and dug in, but paused almost immediately, savoring the taste of the pasta. “Mmm... Oh gods... Oh no...”

“What’s wrong?”

“Is it bad?”

“We can get them to take it back.”

“No, no, no, it’s great, I promise,” Ankyr said, shaking his head. He turned to Pyxis. “You can never tell anyone. But... This is better than the Baby, You’re a Rich Man.” Pyxis gasped.

“Are you sure? I don’t think so.” They took a bite of their own pasta, and shook their head. “Nope. Sarge’s is better.”

“Oh, good, please tell him that. His food is his life.”

“Sounds like someone I can hang with,” Shera said. The group broke off conversation for a moment, eating their food.

“What were we talking about again?” Hans eventually asked. 

“Environments,” Carina said after sipping her green tea. “People accepting people. Or not. Over here it’s a big pile of not. Unless you find the right people.”

“Oh yeah. Cygnus is trans too, y’know. I’m gay. Carina, too. Shera’s pan. None of us are really... welcome. Except here at the Market.”

“What’s so different about the Market?” Ankyr asked. 

“It’s the oldest part of town,” Carina said. “And over the years it’s been overrun by the hipsters and outcasts. Dangerous mix, as we all know.” The other Octolings laughed at this. “I dunno when it started, but for a long time now it’s been known as the kind of place you could go around with your tentacles neon green, or totally shaved off, and tattoos all over your body, and no one would bat an eyelash.” 

“Sounds great,” Ankyr said. “Like the Plaza.”

“Pixie might be trans too,” Cygnus said. “She can’t seem to decide. I keep telling her to make up her mind.” He laughed but quickly stopped when he realized Ankyr wasn’t laughing along.

“Why?”

“What?”

“Why do they have to choose? Why can’t you respect them enough to believe they feel what they say they feel?” Everyone at the table stared at him, remaining silent until Hans let out a “Damn” and snapped his fingers a few times. 

“No, don’t snap that,” Cygnus said. “He doesn’t get it. Either you’re a man or a woman. The only reason she thinks she’s ‘non-binary’ or whatever is because she read it on the Old Net.” Ankyr took in a deep breath after wincing from Pyxis’ tightening grip on his hand.

“I’ve already said what I had to say about it. So if that’s what you think... I guess that's what you think.”

“What do you think, Pyxis?” Cygnus pressed on. 

“I... I don’t know,” they said, lowering their gaze even more, so that they were staring at the Tentatek logo on their shirt.

“What do you mean, you ‘don’t know’? We’re talking about you.”

“Cygnus,” Carina said, prompting the man to lean back and fall silent immediately. “That’s enough. Pyxis, I’m sorry. That was too far.”

“Fine,” Pyxis shook their head, though they didn’t loosen their grip on their best friend’s hand. “It’s fine.”

“Ankyr, if we made you uncomfortable, I apologize,” Carina went on. “Let us know how we can make it up to you.”

“Let’s just change the subject.”

“I second,” Hans sighed.

“The motion has been forwarded and seconded, now on to whales,” Carina said hastily, banging her old tea glass on the table as if it were a gavel before sipping from the new one.

“Whales?”

“They’re glorious, magnificent, and adorable. Agree?”

“Sure,” Ankyr laughed, shrugging his shoulders.

“You guys need anything else?” the waiter asked, swinging by to drop off drink refills. 

“More breadsticks, please,” Shera said. 

“You don’t need any more carbs,” Hans said. 

“Shut uuuuup!”

\/\/\/\/\/

“No no nononono NO! You damn ghosts!”

“Aw, better luck next time,” Ankyr said, applauding Hans’ run on one of many arcade machines in the tiny hole in the wall the group had traveled to. The Inkling was mesmerized by the amazing selection of video games, only having seen one or two in one place in his hometown. "Anyway, I think you did great!"

“Do you wanna give it a shot?” Hans asked, stepping away from the machine. 

“Oh, no, no, that’s fine. You guys go ahead.”

“Go ahead, dude,” Carina said. “We’ve all played these games to death.” 

“Okay... I guess a few tries won’t hurt?”

Several games later, the crew was huddled around him and the machine. 

“I can’t believe he’s about to beat your score, Pixie,” Cygnus breathed. 

“Wait, you’re ‘Dragonlord95’?” Ankyr asked, unable to stifle a chuckle. 

“It’s a dumb name, I know.”

“No, I love it,” he said, shaking his head. “It reminds me of a book series.”

“Earl Crimsonian?” Pyxis asked hopefully.

“Yes! The Evermorrow Trilogy!”

“Oh my gosh! I didn’t know you guys had it over there!”

“PIxie, stop distracting him,” Shera whined.

“Oh yeah,” Ankyr said, bringing his full attention back to the game - but it was too late. A pixelated ghost closed his avatar’s path and caused him a game over. He entered his name - "Sunshine" - and saw it take its place in the number-two slot, just under “Dragonlord95”. 

“Wow, excellent run,” Carina congratulated him.

“He would’ve beaten that level... if he wasn’t distracted,” Shera grumbled. “Pixie, you cheated.”

“I wasn’t trying to,” they sighed. “Don’t be such a drama queen.”

“Should I try again?” the Inkling asked, but Pyxis grabbed his hand and guided him toward a different machine. 

“Nah, don’t worry about it for now, I wanna show you this one.”

“Pixiiiie!” Shera whined. When she got no response, she popped a coin into the previous machine and started evading ghosts on her own. 

“So, you like fighting games too?” Ankyr asked. 

“This is a classic over here. A brawler. Pick your character.”  
Ankyr selected a male character with blond hair and battle scars. Pyxis selected an androgynous man wearing a set of claws. The two avatars appeared against a backdrop of a city back alley.

“Okay, let’s fight some bad guys!” 

“Nice catchphrase,” Ankyr chuckled. 

“Don’t lie to her,” Cygnus cackled. 

“I’m not lying to them,” the Inkling said, as their characters strolled across the screen and defended themselves from oncoming enemies. Pyxis bumped their shoulder against his, never taking their eyes off of the screen. 

“Thanks, Pretty Harmless,” they whispered. 

"Always," he replied.

“Pyxis?!”

The Octoling’s limbs froze, and both characters stopped moving on the screen as the entire crew turned in the direction of the double-wide open doorway, where a very angry adult Octoling stood. 

“Oh boy,” Shera muttered under her breath, stepping away from her game to stand beside Pyxis, entwining her arm around theirs as if to brace them against a tide. 

“Mrs. Arcturo!” Carina greeted cheerfully, straightening her posture and walking up to the woman, blocking the rest of the group from her immediate view. “It’s been so long! How-?”

“Carina, if you don’t step aside this instant-”

“Yeah okay, I tried,” the younger Octoling said, turning ninety degrees and backing away. 

“Mom, what are you doing here?” Pyxis asked, stepping forward. By now both arcade machines were displaying Game Over screens, one simply showing the words on a blank screen while the other had a laughing monster in the background.

“Don’t you dare question me like that, young lady. It’s bad enough I run across you in a filthy hole with this bunch of hoodlums, it’s bad enough you’re never home and you’re wearing all kinds of untasteful clothes and colors, but this?” She gestured to Ankyr, who jumped just a bit in surprise. “THIS? Are you completely out of your mind? Are you all insane? Do you know what that could do to you?”

“Mom... This is my friend.”

“FRIEND?!”

Ankyr chose this moment to step forward and extend his hand. 

“Ankyr Moreta, ma’am, at your service.” The woman glared at his hand, then back to his face, as if the mere thought of shaking hands with him was an insult.

“Mom, he’s just a regular person, like us,” Pyxis said, but fell silent when their mother turned her glare on them. 

“I have heard enough. I want the lot of you to get rid of this... invader. Right now!”

“Ah... Sorry, Mrs. Arcturo, we can’t do that,” Carina said, stepping closer.

“And why not?”

“Because he’s my boyfriend,” she said before kissing the Inkling on the corner of his mouth. Ankyr, Pyxis, and their mother’s eyes all went wide, and everyone else let out whistles and laughs. Mrs. Arcturo turned and walked away with all the haste she could muster, proclaiming “Well, I’ve never!” and “Never in all my days!” and, once more, “Well, I’ve NEVER!”

“Nice work, Queen,” Cygnus cackled, while Shera and Hans clapped enthusiastically. 

“Sorry, Ankyr,” Carina said, stepping away from the Inkling, who along with Pyxis seemed frozen in place. Both he and Pyxis had their mouths wide open. “You’re probably gonna have a reputation around here that you didn’t want. Then again, most of the community would rather believe I have an ‘evil’ Squid boyfriend than accept that I’m gay, so at least there’s that.”  
Ankyr and Pyxis remained silent, contemplating everything that had happened, so the rest of the gang left them alone for a moment to play racing games across the arcade. When Pyxis finally turned to him, Ankyr embraced them tightly, leaving no space between them and resting his head on their shoulder. 

“Oh... Oh. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” he shook his head. “I’m sorry. I know we usually respect each other’s space.”

“No, no, this is good. I want this right now.”

“I just know how bad your anxiety can get, and I was worried for you... And even before this, back in the restaurant... You were holding on really tight back there.”

“I’m sorry if I hurt you,” they said, grabbing his hand and opening it to look at where their fingers had dug into his palm. Having a semi-liquid body and all, the marks were gone by now, but they knew they had been there.

“No, please, always hold on to me when you need me,” he said, tearing up. “I’m your best friend, that’s what...” He paused, sobbing.

“That’s what I’m supposed to do.”

“Thank you,” they said, shedding their own tears as they rubbed his back. “I’ll always be here to do that for you too.” They wiped their tears away before burying their face in Ankyr’s hoodie. 

“You don’t have to wipe your tears in front of me, either. If you have to cry, just let it out. I’ll never make you feel like it’s not okay to cry, remember?”

“I’m only crying because you’re crying.”

“That’s fair,” he sobbed. “Can we sit down now?”

“Yes!”

The two retreated to a vacant nook under the stairs and sat down side by side, holding on to each other’s hands. 

“I’m sorry if I shouldn’t have said anything-”

“No, no, no, thank you...”

“Yeah,” he nodded. “I mean, you’re welcome.”They fell silent for a moment, taking in the electronic sounds of the arcade as they thought of what to say. 

“I liked how polite you were,” Pyxis said as an afterthought.

“Thanks,” he grinned. 

More silence. 

“So... That’s... Yeah.”

“Yeah.”

“A lot of stuff... just happened.”

“Yeah.”

“Does Carina use that method often?”

“Nope, not particularly that one.”

“Good, good. I mean, if she had asked permission I wouldn’t mind so much, but-”

“You wouldn’t?”

“I mean... I don’t like her like that.”

“Good! I mean... She’s gay anyway, so...”

“Yeah. That wouldn’t work out.”

More silence.

“So, that’s your mom, huh?” Pyxis inhaled. 

“Yyyyep.”

“I really...” He trailed off.

“Take your time, Ankyr.”

“You called me Ankyr,” he laughed. 

“Yeah, guess I’m more shaken up than I thought.” Ankyr wrapped his arms around them once more. 

“I’m sorry if I’m too clingy right now-”

“No, no, this is fine, this. This is nice.” They slid their arms under his, and let him rest his head on their shoulder. 

“I’m shaken up, too. I’m so... I’m so used to seeing you defend people. All the time. You always know what to say... You stand up for everyone. So... Seeing you like that, I...” He trailed off, shaking his head. 

“Yeah,” they scoffed, tears streaming down their face. “Guess the only person I can’t stand up for is myself.”

“That’s okay,” Ankyr said, his voice breaking, as he held on tighter. “That’s okay! That’s okay. That’s okay.”

\/\/\/\/\/

“Thanks again for hanging with us, Ankyr,” Carina said, shaking hands with the group’s new Inkling friend. 

“Thanks for having me,” Ankyr said. “I mean, uh... Anyway, I had a good time.”

“Please feel free to stop by again,” Hans said.

“Yeah, don’t worry,we’ll protect you,” Shera added. 

“Shut-” Cygnus hesitated. “Wait, you actually said something not stupid.”

“I say not-stupid things all the time!” Shera shouted. “You guys are just jerks!”

“Thanks, Shera,” Ankyr said.

“Are you sure you don’t want to stay and hang?” Carina asked Pyxis, who shook their head. 

“Nah, we’ve got plans. But I’ll be okay.”

“Yeah,” Carina smiled, glancing at Ankyr, then back to her childhood friend. “I know that now.” 

“See you guys later,” Ankyr said as the two turned and walked toward the docks. 

“THIS IS THE PART WHERE YOU INVITE US TO YOUR TOWN, DANG IT!” 

“SHUT UP, SHERA!”

“Why don’t you guys come over next weekend?” Ankyr asked with a laugh. “I’ll meet you here.”

“YAY!”

\/\/\/\/\/

“How are we doing, team?” Rocky asked, glancing from Squid to Squid to Octopus. "Our first tournament match! We're up against Carry Lucky. We've never battled them before, but they're pretty well-known."

“Are we really doing this?” Pyxis asked with a frustrated sigh. “Why are we entertaining this idiot’s ego?”

“I thought that swim you guys took was supposed to chill you out,” Rocky said, but cleared his throat when Pyxis threw him an annoyed glance. “Er, what I mean is, everything is gonna be okay. This isn’t just for him, it’s for us too! Not to mention we get to give our friends a chance to show the world what they’re made of.” Pyxis nodded. 

“Let’s do it for Tandy and Ty. And Moby. And Noodle and the gang.”

“Yeah!” Penny cheered, raising up her Slosher.

“Let’s not forget they’re all in the tournament, too,” Ecto said. “We could end up facing any of them.”

“Wait, Moby’s in the tournament?” Ankyr asked. “He didn’t even tell us.”

“It was a last-minute thing,” Penny explained “Noodle’s squad needed a fourth mollusc, so I suggested Moby, since he’s got mad skills.”

“Oh, yay!” Pyxis cheered. "I hope they hit it off."

"What are you using for this match?" Ecto suddenly asked Pyxis. 

"What else? N-ZAP '89 - it's just the best."

"Excellent," the female Inkling said, scribbling in her notepad. "Glad to see you've found a main. Mind if I record you?"

"Just me...?"

"It's purely for research, I promise."

"I mean, I knew that," they laughed. "Go ahead, I guess. Are you sure you don't want to battle?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'll probably swap with Caurel in the next match; depends on my analysis of whoever we'll be facing then."

"Why are you so sure we'll make it to the next round?" Caurel asked, to which Ecto simply gestured to Pyxis with both arms spread wide.

"You guys need to stop," Pyxis laughed, shaking their head. "I'm not..." They trailed off when the announcer called the teams to their spawn points. "Well, gotta go. Make sure to cheer extra hard for us." Ecto, Ankyr, Moises, Caasi, and Rory all nodded, and Pyxis followed Penny and the twins for a moment, before turning back and grasping Ankyr's hand.

"Are you okay?"

"Just a little bit more," Pyxis nodded. "Just... thought about something I shouldn't have. I'm okay." They let go of his hand, serious expression melting into a smile. 

"I can trade places with you if you want," he assured them, to which they shook their head. 

"I'm good now. I'll let you have the next one."

"Sounds like a plan," he chuckled. "Go get 'em."

"What was that about?" Caasi asked once Pyxis headed to the spawn point. "Are they okay?" Ankyr sighed.

"We've... had a weird day."

At the purple spawn point, Rocky and company were already resting in the ink.

"You good, bro?" the male Inkling squeaked. 

"I'm good, bro," Pyxis nodded before diving in. When the announcer spoke up through the PDA, they rose from the ink and took their positions, and waited... 

KA-POW! 

Pyxis threw a Sprinkler dead ahead as soon as possible, then sent a "Booyah!" signal and covered the base while their teammates charged ahead. Rocky and Caurel rolled and brushed paths to the center, and Penny used them to swim, dropping large splotches of ink here and there and relying on Burst Bombs for out-of-reach areas. Once the base was covered, Pyxis made their way into the right-hand alley, threw a Sprinkler next to the tree, then jumped back down and through the grate toward the center. A Seeker got Penny, and two green Squids ganged up on Rocky, splatting him with their Dual Squelchers. Caurel, ever the escape artist, managed to splat one of the opponents, but was forced to fall back. She had just been about to swim through the grate, when Pyxis launched an Inkstrike, forcing the other team back to the lower section - for a moment. Rocky's Quick Respawns allowed him to come back early, super-jumping to Caurel's location and mowing down the squids who were busy covering the ink from Pyxis' special.

The first splatted opponent, a Slosher user named Tsuki, had inked her base upon respawning. When her teammates came back, she launched an Inkstrike at the Killjoys' base, just shy of the spawn point. Back at the center, Penny and Caurel had a quick round of Rock-Paper-Scissors to decide who would clean it up. Penny lost, and super-jumped back to base immediately, just before Caurel was splatted by an enemy's Inkzooka. Rocky waited for the 'zooka shots to subside before jumping out from the ink with a roller swing, shouting "For Caurel!" at the top of his lungs. His opponent was visibly amused by his dramatics, but not distracted in the least - they swam backward to avoid the swing before throwing a Splat Bomb and high-tailing it elsewhere. Instead of chasing after them, Rocky took the opportunity to help Pyxis cover the center. 

"I'll keep an eye on the North alley," the Octoling suggested as they threw another Sprinkler. "You watch the main access."

"That's just what I was gonna say," Rocky laughed. 

"Aren't you guys forgetting about something?" Penny asked as she returned to the center, throwing a bomb at the drop-off from the South alley, damaging a stealthy opponent in the process. 

"We didn't forget," Rocky said, rushing over to finish the ninja squid with his roller. "We were just waiting for you guys. Hey, what?" A thin black energy ring encircled the male Inkling - it didn't impede his movements, but he knew every member of Carry Lucky could see him on their maps at that moment. "Ugh... Point Sensor."

"Nope, Haunt," Pyxis said as they threw a Sprinkler toward the enemy's side. "They were wearing that 'Octarian Jacket', I'm pretty sure."

"Oh, look who's been studying fashion!" Caurel cheered as she popped out of the ink with a few brush slashes, catching them all by surprise as usual. "I'm so proud of you!"

"Save it for after the battle," Penny said, as she and Rocky moved in to the enemy side, slipping through their fence even as three opponents dropped into the center from the alleys. 

"Fall back?" Pyxis suggested.

"Not this time," Caurel giggled, activating her special. A Bubbler surrounded her, and multiplied when she passed by Pyxis. The teammates, temporarily protected from harm, met the oncoming assault at point-blank range and splatted all three, as the fourth was taken out by Penny's Slosher. 

"Clean-up time," Caurel said. "Last minute, anything could happen!" 

"I got the ramps," Pyxis nodded before super-jumping back to base and swimming toward the lower section as fast as they could. Caurel used her brush to tidy up any uncovered spots in the center area, but had to think quick when the members of Carry Lucky slipped past Rocky and Penny and made a mad dash to the underpass. She pushed the "C'mon!" signal on the tablet at her waist, but was splatted before the cavalry arrived. Pyxis threw a Sprinkler before dropping down from the North alley and covering as much ink with their shooter as possible, evading the enemy all the while. Soon Rocky joined the fray, keeping the enemy on their toes while Penny remained at green base, covering every last trace of green ink with their purple.

Soon Carry Lucky had most of the center covered, and most of the Killjoys splatted once again,but when the timer ran out, it was the Killjoys who had the most turf covered - the enemy's base, as well as their own. 

"YES!" Caurel threw her Inkbrush Nouveau into the air as usual, catching it this time and spinning around while holding it behind her back. Her face flushed purple, out of breath, she felt like fireworks were going off in her head. "This... is definitely my proudest moment."

"That was so cool," Pyxis exclaimed. "You've got to teach me how to do that!"

"Sure," Caurel laughed. "As soon as I figure out how I did it!" 

At this point, the crowd was starting to dissipate, and the friends and fans of the two squads were making their way into the battlefield to speak with and congratulate them.

"Good game, Killjoys," one of their opponents said, approaching the squad. "I'm Kyo, by the way. I hope we get to battle you guys again sometime."

"That would be legit," Rocky smiled. "You definitely gave us a hard time out there. Don't stop battling!"

"Of course."

"Feeling better?" Ankyr asked as he and the other Killjoys approached their victors. Pyxis nodded, accepting a hug from him. 

"Yeah... Um, can you text Umi?"

"You want to stay over tonight?"

"If you don't mind."

"I don't," he assured them, before reaching for his phone. 

"Heck yeah, squad sleepover at Sunshine's place," Penny cheered, which received positive reactions from the rest of the squad and discussions about who would be bringing what.

"Oh, um... Yeah, that sounds like a great idea," Pyxis said, blushing. "Just what I had in mind."

\/\/\/\/\/


End file.
